


Being Found

by Essiah_Tahir, SnowHeartedWarrior



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alana is implied to be trans, Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion, Angry Connor Murphy (Dear Evan Hansen), Connor Murphy (Dear Evan Hansen) Has BPD, Depression, Evan has 2 moms, Evan's Got Dyslexia, Family Struggles, Fighting, He's an asshole at first, I'm probably forgetting a bunch of tags lmao, Jared becomes friend, Jared plays himself lmao, Kidnapping, Multi, Mutual Pining, Pre-written work, Theyre gay karen, We Try To Stay Comedic But It Gets Sad Every Once In A While, We like to hurt Connor (no we dont), all of them - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-04-06 05:58:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 22,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14050431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Essiah_Tahir/pseuds/Essiah_Tahir, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowHeartedWarrior/pseuds/SnowHeartedWarrior
Summary: When five teens (three Greeks, two Romans) are sent out with a nothing but a prophecy and a vague quest, they have to work together or be torn apart by each other. Evan just hopes everything works out, when all the answers are just being found out, from the past of the Murphy siblings, to his own feelings.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Winter here (from the Stray) with a PJO/DEH fusion story I've worked on with a friend of mine (Essiah_Tahir). Everything of this story has already been written, so it will be uploaded on a semi-consistent schedule. Don't worry, the Stray is still ongoing, I just felt like writing another thing and mixing in another interest of mine. Without further ado, I hope you all enjoy Being Found.

_Evan was screwed_

Gazing out a window admiring the trees when you’re _supposed_ to be taking a test was not advised, _especially_ when said test is geometry of all things. Evan quickly glances at the clock.

_“10 minutes left?! There’s no way I can finish in time!”_

Quickly grabbing his pencil, he ravages his brain to remember what in God’s name **pythongoramea** was.

_Wait…_

He vigorously rubs his eyes, in a an attempt to focus, to reveal the word “pythagorean”

_“There we go. I know this...kinda.”_

Bolstering himself with confidence he touches the lead of his tree shaped pencil to the paper...and stops. A sudden tingle runs down his back and he glances over to the other side of the room, where  his best, and only, friend Alana sat, clearly perturbed by something out the window.

“ _What is that? And can she feel it too?_ ”

A familiar, yet scared voice popped into his head, as was normal.

_MOVE EVAN!_

“Wait what?”

Alana leapt to her feet, yelling “EVAN GET OUT OF THE WAY!”

The wall exploded, Evan just barely moving out of the way as this massive, hairy... _thing_ burst through, all fur, hair, and muscle.

The bull,as Evan realized what it was, locked eyes with him, and charged.

“I said **move, Hansen!** ”

Alana shoved him out of the way, just as he was gonna be an Evan-kebab. Alana twisted gracefully landing... on…  
_“Are those hooves?”_

Evan stared at what, in his current predicament, was the _least_ of his concerns. That being same old Alana, with the lower body **of a freaking goat.** That and a silver bow, with an arrow nocked right between the monster’s eyes.

“Take this, Ground Beef!”     

Suddenly a volley of arrows stuck the monster like a pincushion, unfortunately missing the head, due to an arm the beast raised just in time. With a massive roar the monster cocked back its arm, a blow sure to hit.  
_“No...I can’t let this happen!”_

Suddenly a flow of power,seeped with the feeling of trees swept through Evan in an overwhelming miasma, filling his very being. With a fearsome voice cracking shout, Evan swept out his arm, and thick vines burst the linoleum tiles of the floor, wrapping themselves around the monsters arms and legs, effectively locking it into place. The monster let out a mighty roar...and poofed into a loud of golden dust, and arrow in the wall where it passed through its face.

“Alana, what was that thing? Why are you part goat? What did I just do? **WHAT IS HAPPENING!** ”

Alana nonchalantly swung her bow over her shoulder, giving Evan one of her sweet smiles. “That my friend, was puberty ruining an otherwise epic moment for you. Now c’mon. We have somewhere to be.”

She walked off, gingerly stepping over the debris as Evan scrambled to catch up.

“But Alana, where _are_ we going?”

She stopped and turned to face him, a wide grin plastered on her face.

“Somewhere you’ll belong.”

  


Evan was staring, wide-eyed as Alana guided him to...wherever she was taking him. His mind was still buzzing with questions and thoughts, but he figured it should wait for when they actually get to their location.

“There it is!” Alana chirped out loud.

“Where what is?” Evan looked around. Alana directed his attention towards a tall pine tree sitting upon a hill. He blinked a few times, and shook his head, because he could’ve _sworn_ he could see something else on that hill.

“Half-blood Hill- all we need to do is head over it and all your questions will be answered!” Alana smiled.

“I have a feeling they won’t be answered,” The blonde mumbled as Alana continued on her little goat legs to walk towards the pine tree.

When they got to the top of the hill, Evan felt his chest tighten and his eyes go wide as he looked down from the hill. At first, it looked like some kind of...camp? But as his eyes adjusted and he took in more of the scenery, he noticed that this was not a normal camp. Evan directed his gaze towards the tree that Alana had originally pointed out, almost choking on air when he saw a _dragon_ curled at the base of the pine. It seemed to stare back at him briefly before resting its head again on the ground.

Some kind of weird, golden...flag? No- it was too thick to be a flag. Squinting, he could see it was some kind of shimmering gold sheep’s skin hanging from a low branch, the breeze blowing by and making it waver. Before he could actually question it, Alana grabbed his hand and practically dragged him down the hill. He would’ve struggled or something, but he was still enamored by...well, everything about this weird place. Looking again back towards the tree, his gaze caught sight of a statue on a smaller hill next to Half-blood hill. How did he not notice that thing sooner?! It was huge!

It was a statue of an, admittedly, very intimidating woman. She had a shield in one hand, and held out her other hand, with a smaller statue in its palm. It was beautiful, he had to admit, but also kind of scary in the same way his mother could be.

Wherever Alana was taking Evan, they managed to pass an _amphitheater_ and a volleyball court with a rather violent game going on. He caught sight of a strawberry field, feeling a calm take over at the sight of something even slightly normal.

“Okay, Evan,” Evan looked to Alana as she began speaking in her _I’m about to tell you some important stuff so listen up_ voice. “We’re about to talk to one of the people who run this place. Don’t be afraid of asking him anything; he’s pretty patient with most people.”

“I...uh...okay?”

Alana smiled, probably taking Evan’s response as “yes I understand” and not “what are you talking about, whERE ARE WE???”

She walked up to a rather pretty  four-story Victorian house, painted in Evan’s favorite shade of sky blue. She walked up the stairs of the porch, tapping a knuckle on the front door. There was the faint sounds of the door unlocking several times, probably because of multiple locks, and it opened to reveal a rather scholarly-looking man in a wheelchair.

“Alana! You’ve finally returned- is this our newest camper?”

“Wait, wait, wait- Camper? This is an actual camp?? What- why-” Evan began hyperventilating. “Oh god my mom- she’s gonna- oh no, no, no.”

“Evan! Evan,” Alana gripped his shoulders. “Calm down, take deep breaths. Chiron’ll tell you what’s going on, I promise.”

Evan nodded, taking breaths to get air into his lungs, gripping his shirt tightly. His heart was pounding as his mind created half-formed questions, half-deafening him. He could vaguely hear the guy in the wheelchair- Chiron- calling for someone to bring in a glass while Alana guided him to a rec room.

It took a few minutes, but Evan managed to piece his mind back together. Chiron handed him a glass of water, which his quickly drank like a deathly dehydrated man.

“Apologies for frightening you. I suppose Alana did not fully explain,” Chiron looked over to the goat-legged girl, who awkwardly looked at her hooves and shuffled them in embarrassment. “Since you’re alive and here, you are a Demigod.”

“A Demigod? Like...Demi as in half? Half _-god?_ ” Evan’s voice cracked at the end of his inquiry.

“That’s right,” He nodded.

“That- that’s impossible,” Evan said before shaking his head. “Then again, I thought people with _goat legs_ who shoot _giant bulls_ with silver bows, or even _dragons_ were impossible.” He ran a hand through his own hair nervously.

“Well, it’s all real...Evan, correct?”

Evan nodded.

“Well, Evan, I welcome you to Camp Half-blood. I would ask Alana to help guide you around, but I must speak with her on seperate matters,” Chiron cleared his throat before turning his head. “Zoe!”

Within moments, a rather cute girl entered the room. Her hair was a honey-brunette color, with a few strands colored indigo. She was talking with Chiron, but Evan found himself too entranced to actually listen. She looked a little younger than Evan, maybe only by a year, but her blue eyes held a rather distant age in them. Evan’s breathing hitched when she looked over at him, and began walking over.

She held out a held out a hand.

Evan, quickly wiping one of his hands on his pants, grabbed her hand and shook it once.

“I’m Evan. Evan, uh, Hansen. I’m the new camper...obviously.”

 

“I’m Zoe Murphy, and I’m the child of Hades.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's ya boys.

_Two Years Later..._

 

“C’mon Murphy, can’t you get your shit together for once?”

Connor let out a huff as he lunged at his opponent again, but just missed again. His rival let out an annoying chuckle, to which Connor twisted himself around and slammed a foot into the other’s chest, making him fall backwards.

“Shut. Up.” He snarled. “Good gods, you’re annoying, Kleinman. How the hell do they let you be a soldier? You’re about as threatening as a half-dead rodent.”

Jared glared from under his helmet. “Yeah, well at least I’m not some kinda weird Half-Greek who managed to sneak in on some kind of technicality.” He hopped up to try and stay eye-to-eye with Connor, but that was near impossible due to the major height difference.

“Fuck you! I’m as Roman, hell, _more_ Roman than you! My father-”

“-Is an asshole and ruler of the _Underworld._ You and your dad sure share some similarities- like the fact no one likes either of you!”

“Fuck you!” Connor repeated, voice cracking a bit. The air seemed to shift a bit.

“What? Are you mad because it’s true? Because I’m telling you exactly what everyone’s thinking?” Jared spat back. Connor shoved Jared back to the ground, to which the other finally noticed how dark Connor’s gaze had gotten, eyes like ice.

“Take it back,” Connor’s voice was steady, but still threatening.

“Fuck no!”

A boot pinned Jared to the ground, pressing on his chest.

“Take. It. Back.”

Jared looked around to see undead soldiers slowly arising. Fear pierced his heart.

“Alright, Alright, let me go! I take it back!” Jared managed to shove away Connor’s boot, scampering to his feet. Connor seemed to realize what was going on, the undead collapsing back into the ground from where they came.

Connor didn’t say anything as he backed away, then turned and darted off.

Jared couldn’t help but mutter “Fuckin’ freak” under his breath.

 

_“Piece of shit Kleinman,how dare he insult me like that? I’m more Roman than any motherfucker in this godsdamn camp! Besides, every god has a Roman_ **_and Greek side, so everyone's half Greek here!_ ** _”_

After at least an hour of venting his emotions, Connor came to rest at his favorite spot on the outside of camp, coming to rest and stretch out across the soft grass. He wasn’t exactly happy per se, but he was calm at least, and that was something.

_“I wish you could see how much better I’ve gotten Zoe. Then maybe we could be friends like how we used to. Me and you playing in that apple orchard with Mom and Larry. Well, I guess he was dad back then, but so much has changed since then...”_

“MURPHY! Murphy where are you?!”

…Gods damn it, not him again. He sighed, calling out as he stood and brushed himself free of grass. “Over here, asswipe!” A few seconds later a very disgruntled Roman stumbled out of the underbrush.

“You know Murphy, you coulda stayed where I could find ya. After all,” he pauses, stopping to make sarcastic bow, “I have come to apoli-lie. ”

“Only because Reyna and those two hounds of her’s would tear you to pieces if you didn’t.”

Jared put a finger to his pursed lips as if deep in thought. He shrugs, saying “Well I guess you have a point there Murphy. I guess you Greeks have a brain after all!”

“DAMN IT JARED, WHY CAN’T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE FOR ONCE! THIS IS WHY NO ONE LOVES YOU EITHER!” Jared, took a step back, shock written all over his face. Jared put his head down solemnly, his feelings hurt.

“Um...well. ” Jared sighed and locked eyes with Connor. “I’m sorry man. Friends?”

“You know damn well that’s not gonna happen. But you stay away from me, I stay away from you. Deal?”

“Deal. Now I must be-”

A sudden green explosion in the distance startled the two demigods, causing them to whip around to look at the horizon.

“Ay Connor. You think anybody at camp heard that?”

“I don’t think so. Why?”

“Let’s go check it out then.”

The two boys raced off in the direction of the explosion, Connor far in the lead with his long, lean legs carrying him far from the camp, where sounds of intense fighting were heard. Connor could hear Jared’s footsteps close behind and turned his head calling out, “Get that bow of yours ready Kleinman! We’re gonna have a fight on our hands!”

Jared could only nod, his legs moving as fast as they could go, his forehead sweaty with exertion. They made it over the small hill overlooking the now obvious fighting to see two demigods and a faun fighting a angry, singed cyclops, that was about 7 feet tall. Upon closer inspection Connor could just barely make out a familiar figure…

“Zoe…that’s my sister out there! Give me cover fire! ”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Evan and his gay thoughts, part one.

“Zoe, watch your left side!” Evan called out. The daughter of Hades quickly ducked as a hand swung at her, stabbing the Cyclops in the thigh. She rolled to the side, chest heaving.

“Evan, duck!” Alana ordered. The blonde dodged as the satyr shot another arrow, only for it to land in the monster’s shoulder. Evan heard a bit of colorful language from her before he had to throw up his swords and block a punch. He was forced backwards, losing his balance and falling on his already wounded back.

_ Why did we have to get attacked after we just had an entire quest?! _

Evan couldn’t react as the Cyclops prepared to slam his fist down and probably turn Evan into a pancake. He closed his eyes, ready to die…

Only the blow never came. He opened his eyes back up.

Multiple crossbow darts stuck out of the cyclop’s chest, and a dark figure was slashing at the monster’s face, attacking like a wolf to a bear. Squinting, Evan could tell that those weren’t knives in the new ally’s hands- they were more like Wolverine’s claws. One more strike, and the monster turned to dust.

Alana and Zoe rushed to help Evan back to his feet while he continued staring at the new guy, his green eyes the size of dinner plates.

“Thank you for…your…” Zoe’s voice went quiet when the guy turned around. He was pretty for a guy, with long, dark hair framing his angular face. His eyes were far too familiar, their chilling blue color much like Zoe’s. “You.” Zoe’s tone changed so quickly, Evan was certain it gave him whiplash. “You’ve got a lot of nerve.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Zoe? I just saved your damn life!” The guy snarled back.

“Fuck you! We had it handled,  _ Connor _ .” She spat out his name like it had a bad taste.  _ So this is Connor. As in Zoe’s brother Connor. Zoe’s violent and volatile brother Connor. _

“Hey, don’t take all the credit, Murphy!” A new voice piped up. A shorter guy began making his way to stand next to Connor, crossbow behind his back as he adjusted his glasses. Evan blinked several times, shaking his head. That guy looked  _ very  _ familiar, but he was a bit too exhausted to actually recall anything. “Anyway, these guys look pretty fucked up. You need some help?”

“Yes, please-”

“Hell no-”

Alana and Zoe spoke at the same time, then looked at each other. The anger seemed to drain from Zoe’s eyes as she looked down at the ground, kicking a pebble.

“We would love some help,” Alana put on her diplomatic voice. “We’re coming back from a quest, and our friend Evan here is a bit more injured than Zoe and I.”

“We’ll help,” The crossbow-user said. “C’mon, we’ll...we’ll take you to Camp Jupiter.”

“Wait,” Evan realised he spoke out loud, making everyone look at him. “Uh...we...names?”  _ Very intelligent sentence, Evan. Great job, your mothers would be proud. _

“I’m Jared Kleinman, and obviously one of you already knows that asshat,” Jared pointed to Connor. “His name’s Connor Murphy.”

Evan felt his mouth go dry, instantly recognizing Jared’s name and face.

“Are we going or not?” Connor had already made his way ahead of the rest of the group. “I’d rather not wait for anymore monsters.”

“We’re coming!” Alana replied before helping Evan stand steady.

 

“Hey Evan,you alright buddy? You look a little shaken?” Evan looked up into Alana’s concerned eyes, realizing he’d been keeping his head down, lost in thought. 

“No i’m fine it’s just...I know one of them.” He points to Jared, who was talking amiably with Zoe ahead of them, but still way behind Connor, who was taking the longest steps he possibly could. 

“Then why don’t you go talk to him? I’m sure he’d love to catch up with an old friend.” Evan chewed on his fingernail for a moment, and nodded his head, making a decision.  
_“Yeah, Alana’s right. After all, even if he isn’t what’s the worst that can happen?”_

With a not so convincing affirmation to Alana, and words of encouragement, Evan broke into a light jog, catching up with Jared, who had finished talking to Zoe, at least for now. 

_ “Here we go Evan. Re-introduce yourself. Baby steps, baby steps. Be calm like a tree.” _

“Um...hey Jared? You,uh...remember me?” 

Jared turned around, walking backwards facing Evan. “What you mean from just now? Of course, I’m not stupid. You hit your head or something?”

Evan’s spirits sank. 

_ “Of course. Now he thinks i’m a loon. Great job Evan!” _

He took a deep breath, composing himself for a minute. “No, I mean, uh...we knew each other. From school. We used to hang out when my mom was working and at school. ” 

Jared’s confused face worried Evan even more.  
_“Wow. He really doesn’t remember me.”_

“Sorry dude. Must got me confused with some other amazing Jared Kleinman, not that there is one. I’m one of a kind.” With that thought he turned and swaggered off, with the familiar groove that only the deeply insecure could pull off. At least to Alana’s eyes,who was listening and watching the exchange closely from a distance, coming forward ready to comfort her best friend.

    “It’s okay,Ev. It’s been years since you guys have seen each other right? It was to be expected that after all the demigod stuff he’s had to do too, that he would forget some stuff from his old life.”

Evan looked down, unconsciously inching closer to Alana for comfort. “Yeah, I guess so. It's just...back then we were all we had. Iit was the two of us against the world. How do you forget that?” Alana looked over at Jared, who was busy making potshots against falling leaves.

_ “You don’t. But don’t worry Evan. I'll find out his secrets. I promise.” _

__

__  After about another 30 minutes of walking, they reached what looked like a small city to Evan, but upon Jared’s exuberant announcement of, “Welcome to Camp Jupiter! Home to the mightiest demigods on Earth!” Evan was shocked.

_ “And I thought Camp Half-Blood was big! This place is huge! And they still consider it a camp?” _

Evan, got over his initial shock and timidly mustered the courage to ask, “Um, why do you guys call this place Camp Jupiter, if its the size of a small city?” 

Jared let out a loud, open mouthed laugh. “Let me guess. You guys’s camp is pitiful ain’t it?”

Evan winced at the sharp remark, wishing he’s never even asked. Alana rubbed his shoulder and glared at Jared. “Where are you taking us anyway?”

Jared called behind him, not bothering to turn around, “To Reyna of course! She’ll know why you’re here! At least I think...” Jared shrugged. 

“Well? Stop talking about and move, already!” Connor yelled out from the front, the agitation clear in his voice.

_ “From what I heard from Zoe, he’s apparently a loose cannon but...he does look kinda nice...” _

Evan shook his head, a blush prominent on his cheeks.

_ “What am I saying! He’s a guy, and Zoe’s brother at that! Even if I was inclined to swing that way,which I definitely don’t, I wouldn’t go out with my friend’s sibling!” _

When Evan finally looked up, he realized they had arrived at the most beautiful building Evan had ever seen. It was about two stories tall, made completely out of white marble. Jared waved them inside, and was equally impressed. The walls were covered with a beautiful purple velvet, the floor so shiny  Evan could see his reflection in it. In the center of the room was a table laden with papers, tablets, and a very intimidating girl. Mostly because of the two  **massive** gold and silver greyhounds being scratched behind the ears. Beside her was a very good looking guy, who Evan,contrary to his inner thoughts, was very hot. Evan almost missed it when he started talking, completely distracted by his face. 

“Well, well, well! You guys sure took your time! I’m Apollo, pleasure to meet you. You all are going to Camp Half-Blood with me, you have a prophecy to fulfill! ”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Evan And The Great Sexuality Struggle Part Two, Now with a side of Conner's Self Loathing. 
> 
> (Also at any of our readers: Apollo's my godly parent, who's yours?)

Apollo set off immediately towards the door, grabbing Evan’s hand on the way out, smirking when he saw the blush creep up on his cheeks. “You, my cute, cherry red friend is going to have the great honor of driving the sun!” Evan didn’t process a word of what he said, considering his  **current** situation.

_ “Oh my gods, ohmygodsohmygodsOHMYGODS!” _

Before Evan knew it he was standing in front of a luxurious, two seater sports car. 

“Um...Mr.Apollo sir...uh...How am I supposed to fit everyone in here?” Apollo looked at his car, and his face fell. “Oh. Yeah. Gimme a sec.” After a strangely normal digging of pockets, the sun god pulled out a keychain. “Okay everybody, turn around, unless you wanna be blind forever. Everyone ready? Alrighty, here we go!” From the corner of his eye, Evan could see a bright flash of light, and felt warmth spill over his back. When he turned, he was greeted with the sight of…

“A SHUTTLE BUS!” Jared was the first to yell, laughing till there were tears in his eyes. Apollo was  **not** amused. 

“Shut up Roman, before I burn you to a crisp.” Jared was quick to get up and straighten his face. Apollo pushed the keys into his hand, a sheepish grin on his face. “Well Evan? What do you think of the sun? ”

Evan glanced at the bus, and then back to Apollo. “Well...I uh..It reminds me of Transformers? Except now it's a shuttle bus in disguise?” Evan watched as Apollo’s face went blank….before he burst into laughter. 

“Oh by Zeus’s beard you’re funny!” Apollo continued to giggle as he sat Evan in the driver seat. Evan would’ve been fine but there was one big problem…

_ “I DON’T KNOW HOW TO DRIVE! MUCH LESS DRIVE THE  _ **_SUN_ ** _ OF ALL THINGS!” _

“Um, Apollo...I don’t know how to drive...so maybe someone else can...maybe?”

He waved his hand dismissively, sitting down behind the driver’s seat. “Oh c’mon Ev, don’t be scared. You’ll do great!”

  
  
  


Weird shit that’s managed to happen to Connor in past barely-an-hour:

He met a bunch of Greek demigods

He’s seen his sister again for the first time in gods know how long.

Now he’s riding in the fucking  _ Sun _ .

 

And the driver doesn’t know how to drive. It’s been a great day so far, obviously.

“Lord Apollo, no offense, but why the  _ fuck  _ are you letting that pipsqueak drive when he just said he can’t??”

“Have a little belief in the boy, Son of Pluto,” Apollo waved him off. He was the only one not really holding on for dear life while the freckled duelist- Evan or something?- was obviously trying not to panic in the driver’s seat. “No one’s dead y-”

The shuttle bus bounced and practically displaced everyone, with Zoe falling backwards into the arms of the faun- wait no, they’re Greek- the  _ Satyr,  _ while Connor tried to hold in a laugh when Jared fell to the floor, cursing in Latin.

“Oh gods, what did I do??? What the hell did I do??” Evan nearly screeched. 

“You’re doing fine!” Apollo reassured. “Everything’s fine, I’m sure!” 

The bus started to take a nosedive.

“Fuck!” Connor was the first to scream, falling back into the seat he stood up from.

Everything suddenly steadied within seconds. Connor scrambled to sit up enough to see the driver’s seat, where Apollo was somewhat leaning on Evan as he took over the driving. Evan looked like a strawberry, probably both with embarrassment and the fact that the Sun God was kind of on his lap.

“Alright, alright,” Apollo said. “We’re alright. We’re fine! That isn’t the first time that’s happened. And you all have less to lose than Thalia Grace did!”

“What the hell do you mean, Less to lose??” Connor hissed.

“You’ll find out!” Apollo chirped back.

 

Everyone shoved each other out the bus when they landed. Jared was being overdramatic, saying he was about to upchuck his guts or something. Alana leaned on the bus, taking a breather with Zoe near her and trying to also calm herself down. Evan decided to collapse into a nearby patch of grass, laying there. Connor gripped his purple Camp Jupiter shirt beneath his unzipped black jacket, checking to make sure air was actually getting to his lungs. Apollo stepped off the bus, bright and shiny as ever.

“That went well!” He announced.

Everyone collectively stared (or in the Murphy siblings’ case, glared) at the god of the Sun.

“Now, let’s move along, children! We’ve got someone important to meet up with, and you all have a time limit,” Apollo clapped his hands. “Snap to it!” He headed off.

Everyone was awkwardly glancing at each other. 

“Does he mean time limit as in ‘we’re gonna die soon’?” Jared asked, looking to the Murphys.

Connor and Zoe looked at each other, then looked at the other three. “Nope.” They both said. 

“We should probably follow Apollo,” Evan stated out loud, lifting his head a little.

“Do we have to?” Jared whined.

“Unless we want to be obliterated.”

“Good point, I guess.”

Zoe helped Evan back to his feet. Connor caught himself staring at the Greek demigod, quickly looking away to lead the way to Apollo. He stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets as to not nervously fidget or something in this unfamiliar place. Surprisingly, everyone was quick to catch up with the long-legged Roman, but Zoe still kept her distance, like Connor was some kind of rabid animal she was advised to stay away from. He couldn’t blame her, really. At the end of the day, it’s his fault she had to be sent to some boarding school across the country from Camp Jupiter. He glanced back at his sister, who seemed far more interested in the group at the moment.  _ Your fault _ , his brain repeated.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i cant believe connor murphy fucking died (again)
> 
> (side note: rachel is about twenty in this story because it takes place 2+ years after the war with gaea and also Trials of Apollo didnt happen, i guess)

Although not as massive as Camp Jupiter, Connor had to admit the place had a charm that Jupiter didn’t. The little cabins and forest made the place look like a regular, mortal summer camp. That is, until a massive wall of fur and muscle slammed into him. 

_ “What the FUCK IS ON ME. Wait...is this a hellhound?” _

Last time Connor checked, he hadn’t been cursed, hexed, or high, but he was finding it hard to believe that this place would keep  **a hellhound** as a pet. 

Under the massive dog, Connor heard his sister shooing the dog, whose name is apparently Mrs.O’Leary, off of him. Once it did, his suspicions were confirmed. It was a hellhound.

“Why do you guys-”

“Excuse me? Demigods? Apollo here, supposed to be following me, chop chop!”

Everyone else jogged past Connor...except for…

_ “Evan? I think that’s his name. And the, uh satyr girl, Alana I believe.” _

Connor barely heard the timid voice saying “You need a hand?” Connor excepted and managed to get a good look at him for the first time. He had a round face, and blonde hair, with honest green eyes. Connor snapped out of inspection when Evan blushed and looked away, not realizing he’s been staring. 

“Oh,uh sorry bout that. Thank you,uh Evan. Should we,uh...” Connor made a vague gesture indicating they should catch up to the others.

When they had caught up, they were at what appeared to be a cave of sorts, with Apollo beaming with pride. 

“Well everyone, this is where you shall receive your prophecy, from our Oracle of Delphi, who I appointed. I’ll be here when you guys come out, after all, I can’t wait to see your stunned faces! Now go on in, don’t keep her waiting.” He pushed them all inside, and they were greeted with the sight of a torchlit room with sofas adorned with colorful throw pillows, and purple curtains around the entire place.

Jared whistled in amazement. “Nice place you got here Oracle lady. I especially like the purple. It reminds me of the glory of Rome.” He let out out an exaggerated sigh, most likely to try and annoy the redhead in the center of the room, who Connor hadn’t noticed till now, sitting on a three legged stool. 

The girl flipped her hair, annoyance clear on her face. “Yeah, okay Roman guy. Compensating for your little Rome is real classy.” She turned her attention to Connor and the rest of them, a smug smile on her face. “Hey there, guy! I’m Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the current Oracle of Delphi. Now I’ll do the rest of introductions later. I like to get the whole prophecy thing out the way.” Zoe, Alana, and Evan nodded, while Connor shrugged, unsure of what he should expect.

_ “How bad can telling a prophecy be? Just rhyme some words and-HOLY FUCK WHY ARE HER EYES NEON GREEN,WHAT THE FUCK!!” _

And just when Connor thought it couldn’t get any weirder, the Oracle girl, Rachel, opened her mouth and  **musty,green smoke came out.** The smoke writhed around their ankles like a snake and then Rachel began to speak in an ancient, slightly disembodied voice.

**_“Westward you will go,_ **

**_With serpents you will fight toe to toe._ **

**_Beware the seeds of hate you've sown_ **

**_'Else you'll lose all you call your own._ ** **”**

And with that the smoke receded back into Rachel’s mouth and she blinked, straightening her clothes as if nothing happened.

“So guys. Whatchu think?”

Connor promptly passed out in the middle of the floor.

 

“Connor!” Zoe couldn’t help but be alarmed when her older brother collapsed. Alana held out an arm to stop the Daughter of Hades from rushing to her Roman brother. Alana took careful steps forward, kneeling down and touching the pulse point on Connor’s neck.

“He’s still alive, but he’s probably had a bit too much...excitement for one day,” Alana glanced over at Apollo, who shrugged in a  _ “It’s not my fault he can’t take a flying bus ride and a prophecy in one day” _ kind of way. The satyr let out an annoyed huff before she picked up Connor in a fireman carry. She heard Jared choke on air, probably surprised by the satyr girl’s strength. Alana turned to look at the other Roman in the room. “What? He doesn’t weight much more than a pound of grapes to me.”

Alana went to exit the cave, carrying Connor with ease.

Evan looked over at Zoe, who was feeling...well, he couldn’t tell how she was quite feeling as she stared out the mouth of the cave.

“Zoe? Are you alright?” He asked, waving a hand in front of her face. She shook her head, clearly getting her bearings together, before rushing to follow Alana. Evan blinked, then looked to Jared. They caught each other’s gaze, Jared quicker to look away. Rachel cleared her throat.

“You two gonna leave or do I have to kick you out?”

“Shit, sorry,” Jared mumbled, getting out. Evan went after him. They awkwardly walked together, Evan leading the way a bit since he knew where Alana was probably taking Connor. 

Evan felt Jared staring behind him, but chose not to look back. Was this really not Evan’s old friend? Everything pointed to Jared lying, but Evan hated confrontation in all forms. Hell, he’s knowingly had a small crush on Zoe, knows that she’d be cool about turning him down because of her giant crush on Alana, but still refuses to say anything. Not like it matters, anyway. His crush on Zoe was like a candle flame that was starting to flicker out.

Jared hadn’t made many more “Camp Jupiter is better than this place” comments as they walked past a few cabins, heading to the Apollo cabin. Evan turned his head towards the Demeter cabin some ways away, catching the eyes of some of his half-siblings and giving a small wave. Zoe was already leaning on the doorway of the overly-done gold-covered cabin.

“Will’s already taking a look at Connor.” She said, tone short and sharp, her eyes looking around the camp rather than directly at Evan. “But Alana’s probably right and it’s over-exertion of some kind.”

“Should’ve known Murphy wouldn’t be able to handle this shit. He can barely handle friendly jabs,” Jared muttered bitterly.

Zoe looked at Jared with icy eyes, raising a doubtful eyebrow at his mention of ‘friendly jabs’. She opened her mouth to say something before the cabin door opened, Alana once again carrying Connor, but this time carrying him bridal-style. He was still passed out, but Evan had to admit he looked way better when he was resting. His face wasn’t quite so angry.

“He just needs a little rest,” Alana confirmed. “Zoe, we’re taking him to the Hades cabin.”

“What.” Zoe deadpanned.

“Pluto and Hades are one in the same, so it is his cabin too.”

Zoe looked ready to argue, jaw and shoulders tense, but she soon replied with a sigh. “Fine. Come on.”

“Should we come to? We’ve got that prophecy to discuss.” Evan was a bit startled when Zoe whipped around, glaring. “Alright, nevermind, we’ll see you later.” He spoke quickly, turning to avoid the icy eyes. “Let’s go, Jared.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone it's two in the afternoon and I just woke up. Enjoy this chapter.

_ “Zoe must be really upset if she got like that. I hope she’ll be alright with it. Eventually...” _

Evan mulled the situation over in his head a few times, and could find nothing he could do. Except maybe talk to Alana. 

_ “Yeah,that’s what I’ll do. Alana’s the smartest person I know. She’ll definitely know what to do.  But for now I should probably talk to Jared...after I ask Alana about what  _ **_I_ ** _ should do too.” _

A decision made, Evan went to the Hades cabin after a curt farewell to Jared, figuring that she couldn’t have there just yet. As he approached though, he saw that the door was cracked open, but no one was in, except for a sleeping Connor, his long brown hair sprawled around him.

_ “He really does look nicer when he’s resting...a lot nicer...” _

Sounds of a hushed argument snapped him out of, “Checking” on Connor.

_ “Definitely wasn’t staring. Nope, not me.” _

As he made his way behind the cabin, he managed to make out Alana and Zoe’s voices.

“You don’t understand Alana! He’s an unstable, volatile, **monster!** And he’s not even from here! He’s a Roman! What if he’s still holding a grudge after what that Leo guy did all those years ago? ”

_ “It may just be me, but I think Zoe’s head is too much in the past?” _

Alana spoke up, echoing what was already in Evan’s head.   
“That was years ago Zoe! He’s been at a camp for years now, and if he’s as bad as you say, wouldn’t he had fought you when you gave him crap for helping us, when we **clearly** didn’t have it under control?”

Zoe didn’t respond, keeping her head down in defeat. She knew Alana had a point.

“Exactly. Now you don’t have to start being all chummy with him, just don’t give him a hard time, okay? He already has that going for him with that Kleinman.” 

“Yeah. Sure. Whatever.”

And with that, Zoe walked off, thankfully going to the side Evan wasn’t at, a grey stormcloud around her.

_ “Ooh man. Zoe’s really upset. I should probably wait til-” _

“Evan I know you’re there. C’mon buddy, let’s talk.”

_ “...crap.” _

And with that Evan went to where Zoe was standing no more than a few seconds ago, an ashamed blush on his cheeks.

“Uum...sorry about, uh, y’know the whole eavesdropping thing, I just came at the wrong time and-”

Alana held up her hand, her signature reassuring smile she used only on Evan on her face.

“It’s okay Evan. I’m glad you heard it actually. I’m assuming you wanted to help out between those two,yeah?”

Evan nodded, a little unnerved by the accuracy at which his friend read him.

“Um,yeah, I was wondering if you could hang around Connor, and get his side of the story. I know you like making friend’s so it would really be no trouble but if you don’t want to, it’s alright. ” 

“Sure thing Ev. You can help out too ya know. Connor could use friends in this place. Anything else ya need?”

He hesitated, a bit more worried about this question, than the one he had already asked.

“Um, it’s about Jared, I was gonna ask...if...you...”

Evan slowly trailed off into silence, as Alana’s face clouded over at the very mention of the Roman’s name.

“Don’t worry about him Ev. I’ll take care of that.”

By the time Evan reached his cabin, he still wasn’t sure if that a was a good thing. Or a bad one.

 

Simply put, Jared was pissed.

Correction. Jared was  **really pissed** .

After old tree boy left him at the hermes cabin, muttering some nonsense about finding that scary goat girl, he was immediately greeted with a bucket full of water over his head. In which people were laughing.

**At him.**

Specifically two, lanky twin brothers who were both rolling on the floor, as if they were being tickled to death.

_ “Oh, so they think they’re funny,huh. I’ll teach em not to mess with the mighty Roman demigod, Jared fucking Kleinman.” _

Jared let out a massive, fake, condescending laugh, silencing everyone with the sound of it. He wiped a fake tear from his eye before pulling out his crossbow, going stone face as he pointed it straight at the idiotic twins.

“Oh what happened? I thought you were doing pranks, not fish impressions? What’s the matter, don’t find crossbows funny?”

The two brother shook their head vigorously, fear written all over their face.

_ “There we go. That’s what I want. Cuz then, if they fear me, they’ll respect me like any decent human being should be!” _

Jared took a deep breath to calm himself down before continuing.

“Because of what you two idiots have done, I’ll be taking your beds and all of your money. If you don’t like it, I hope you don’t mind me going through your stuff while you two are in the infirmary for crossbow bolts to the kneecaps. So what’s it gonna be?” 

The twins looked at one another before going to their spot, and cleaning off their bed and hiding places of their money and possessions, before handing Jared two medium sized leather sacks stuffed full of golden coins.

_ “Drachmas. That’s what these Greeks use huh?” _

He stuffed the sacks in his messenger bag, before turning to the two brothers.

“Thank you for your cooperation. Now scram.”

Jared inspected his small space in the overcrowded cabin before hiding his stuff, and laying down.

Needless to say he was still pissed, but his exhaustion won the fight as he drifted off into a fitful sleep, full of dreams of crowds of faceless people laughing and pointing.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does Evan Hansen Is Gay?

Connor was always a troubled child. Even before he fully knew his lineage, he knew he was different in one of the worse ways possible.

Which is why he shouldn’t have been surprised when his dreams attacked him with memories he’d tried his best to store deep down, and hide away from everyone.

His least favorite came from when he was around twelve, just before he was supposed to go into his training as Roman. His mom, Cynthia, and his stepdad, Larry, had taken him and Zoe to some kind of Orchard. Connor was so happy at first, his stepfather having given him a toy plane to play with. Zoe asked their stepdad to join in their playing, only for a moment, and Connor remembers things going to shit so quickly. Larry had flown the plane into a little creek.

At first, Larry joked about an emergency landing. But Connor realized how the plane wasn’t working after that. He got angry.

Really angry.

He remembers yelling, and the entire orchard dying off from Connor’s subconscious abilities.

He remembers Zoe yelling at him to calm down.

He remembers getting his hands bloody.

He remembers Zoe’s crying as she held a wounded arm close to her chest.

He remembers watching, the next year, as Zoe was sent off to a boarding school in New York, all the way across the country.

He remembers all the nights he spent afterwords, frustratedly crying to himself.

 

Connor opened his eyes slowly, feeling like the dead as he sat up in his bed. He used the heel of his palm to rub his eyes, feeling a slight dampness on his face. Shit, he must’ve been crying in his sleep again. He looked around, the place feeling both familiar and unfamiliar.

The door creaked open, making Connor whip his head towards the newcomer. It was Evan.

“Thank gods, you’re awake. I was afraid of having to wake you up and you’d be angry or something at me and then we’d have to go on a quest while you were angry at me and-”

“What do you want?” Connor didn’t mean for the question to come out in a growl. He cringed when Evan visibly flinched.

“It’s, uh...It’s time for dinner,” Evan spoke so softly like he was afraid of raising his voice.

“Alright,” Connor swung his long legs over the side of the bed, standing up and walking to the door. Evan walked about a foot ahead of Connor, either respecting Connor’s space or being too afraid of being close to Connor. Connor wouldn’t blame him if it was the latter. “Hey, Evan.”

Evan almost jumped out of his skin when his name was spoken, and he turned to look at Connor.

“How, uh...how’s dinner work around here?”

“Oh, well,” Evan completely stopped, letting Connor stand beside him so he could talk. “We all sit at tables according to our Godly parent.”

“Shit, really?”

“Yeah, but uh...there’s a few exceptions? Only sometimes though,” Evan replied. “We could, uh...talk to Chiron real quick if you’ve got a problem with sitting at the Hades table?”

“I think that’d be a good idea,” Connor almost mumbled. Evan nodded.

“Alright, then. This way.”

Connor noticed how Evan had decided to walk a little bit closer to him, and with now a little less fear. It was kind of nice.

 

Alright, so Connor wasn’t as bad as Evan thought. Admittedly, he was working with limited interactions and mostly very angry word-of-mouth. Standing closer to Connor, he could feel a kind of death-chill kind of feeling around the Son of Pluto, but it didn’t bother him as much as it probably should.

They entered the dining pavilion, Evan heading to the table at the head of the room where Chiron was observing the campers.

“Chiron, sir,” Evan grabbed the centaur's attention. “Connor has a request for you, sir.”

Chiron seemed to smile a bit at Evan’s overly-respectful way of speaking to him, like always, and then turned his attention to Connor. “Connor Murphy, correct? Zoe’s elder brother?”

“Yep.” The tall teen replied shortly.

“Well, firstly, welcome to Camp Half-blood,”

“Mm-hm.”

“Now what is your query?”

“Could I, uh... _not_ sit with my sister? We’ve still got some...issues.” Connor shifted.

Chiron looked at Connor as if evaluating him. Evan glanced between the son of Pluto and the centaur, noticing how Connor almost looked like a child receiving scolding from a parent purely from Chiron’s gaze.

“I believe that can be arranged,” Chiron nodded. “Perhaps you can sit with Evan at the Demeter table.”

Evan almost choked on his own spit. He coughed a few times, hitting his chest. “What?”

“Is there a problem, Evan? You tend to sit away from your brothers and sisters, so I know seating is no issue.”

“No, no, no, it’s uh…” Evan tried to find a good excuse, then looked at Connor again, the taller boy’s face gloomy and a bit dejected. “Nevermind, it’s fine. I...I was just kind of surprised, is all. C’mon, Connor.” Evan half-instinctively took Connor’s hand and lead him to the Demeter table, trying to prevent his face from catching on fire purely from how hot it was. He could hear some of his siblings chuckling a little as he walked past them.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're preparing to go on a killer queeeeeeeeeeest
> 
> side note, to anyone in the bmc fandom: we've got a fic that will be posted on wednesday. it's basically a ghost hunters au gone chaotic.

 Zoe watched as that monster of a brother chatted with Evan, hate clear in her eyes to anyone who would have dared to turn and look at her.

_"I can’t believe him! This asshole coming **here** in **my camp,** and talking with **my friend** Who the **FUCK**  does he think he is?”_

She was so caught up in her own rage she didn’t notice Alana creeping up to sit next to her.

“You know, if he and Evan are getting along you should give him a chance.”

Zoe jumped, Alana’s words snapping her back to reality.

“Yeah,I guess so. But what if he-”

“But nothing Zoe. He’s obviously changed for the better. Evan’s got a good sense of character. If he trusts someone, you should to. After all,” Alana paused to put her hand on top of Zoe’s, warranting a blush, “when’s our darling tree boy ever led us astray?”

Zoe, for the second time that day, couldn’t dispute Alana’s flawless logic.

“See? Once again, Zoe Murphy, the mighty child of Hades, has no defense against the point of a little old satyr.”

Zoe managed a laugh, despite her worries and turbulent emotions.

“Alana?”

“Yeah,Zoe?”

“Why the hell do you have to be so smart?”

The rest of the night went off without a hitch, and even the campfire was fun, with Evan magically getting Connor to sing, much to Zoe's surprise. And when it was time for bed, the two siblings managed to sleep in the same room without a word passing between them.

 

Jared was not ready for the next morning.

Surprising, as he was Roman who was meant to be prepared at all times.

The Hermes cabin obviously kept their distance for most of the night. Whatever, it was fine. He was used to people being like that. Besides, his Greek kin weren’t all that great anyway. He headed out the cabin after getting the little amount of stuff he brought along. He already spotted Connor, Zoe, and Evan standing in wait, probably for him.

“Where’s the faun?” He asked bluntly.

“Alana’s a satyr, jackass,” Connor replied.

“Of course you’d know that, Greek.”

“Roman,” Connor corrected.

“Anyway, where’s _Alana_?” Jared asked once more.

“She’ll be meeting us in the Big House, and knowing her, she’s probably waiting there. So let’s move it.” Zoe was quick to separate herself from the group.

Jared blinked. _Yep, she’s Murphy’s sister, alright. Snappy, spiteful, and bitchy. Still hasn’t tried breaking my neck though, so that’s a plus._

Evan and Connor went after the daughter of Hades, noticeably walking a bit close. Jared would’ve said something, but he still wasn’t entirely sure how to go about it. That Hansen kid was obviously someone he knew, but did he really? As he walked, Jared tried to search in his head to make sure the kid was who he thought it was. Chubby, freckled face that was a little tanned from time out in the sun...green eyes kind of like leaves....

They arrived at the Big House, which was now taking Jared’s attention. It was a pretty nice place. Kind of domestic looking for a camp that was supposed to be raising fighters, but he supposed he couldn’t complain. Chiron- he picked up the name from some conversations he overheard, plus he knew Lupa’s Greek equivalent was a centaur by that name- was sitting in a wheelchair with Alana standing next to him.

“Good morning, everyone!” Alana chirped happily at her friends and probably at the Romans too. “I hope you all slept well, because we’ve got a long journey ahead of us.”

“Wait, where are we going?” Evan asked.

“Good question, Evan! We’re going to have to go across the country again.”

Zoe and Evan groaned.

“Don’t complain, guys! It’s an opportunity-”

“-To almost die?”

Everyone turned their attention to Connor, who stood with folded arms.

“I hate to agree with spider-legs over here-”

“Hey!”

“-But if it is just the five of us, we’re probably gonna die.” Jared finished his thought. “At Camp Jupiter, we’re supposed to take a large, highly trained team. What do we have here? A faun-”

“I can fight.” Alana defended.

“-A child of _Demeter,_ aka a gods-damned hippie plant child-”

Evan didn’t say anything to deny it.

“-Two erratic children of the Underworld-”

“Fuck you, Kleinman.” Connor spat.

“And me, and I barely have any of my shit together.”

“I will admit you all aren’t exactly a group many would think would work together, but Percy Jackson’s first quest was to the Underworld after he was at our camp for a few days.” Chiron reassured.

“Ah yes, and look how many times he almost died,” Jared replied.

Chiron went silent.

“Jared, we’re gonna have to take on this quest whether we want to or not,” Evan pointed out. “We were given a prophecy.”

“An ominous as fuck prophecy! _Beware the seeds of hate you’ve sown?_ That could be talking to any of us! Hell, it could mean any of us are gonna be traitors!” Jared threw his hands up, exasperated.

“Too bad, we’re gonna have to go anyway.” Alana held up five small pieces of paper “We’ve got train tickets and a train leaving in a few hours.” She one bag each to Zoe and Evan. “We’re going straight to Vegas.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gays on trains

“Um, Connor? You uh… you feeling alright?”

Connor turned his head back from the window and was greeted with Evan’s concerned face. He patted the seat next to him, happy to let his new friend near him.

_“Only a friend Connor? You know you swing that way...and he does like you...maybe….”_

Connor pushed these intrusive thoughts to the back of his head, turning instead to comfort the concerned tree boy, a nickname he had picked up from spending a little time with Alana.

“I’m fine Ev. Just thinking about some stuff.”

Evan looked around before leaning in, talking in a whisper.

“Is it about you and Zoe?”

Connor nodded. “I tried doing what you and Alana talked about, but everytime she just gives me this look like….” Connor sighed. Speaking in a low, defeated tone. “Like I’m some kind of monster. She just can’t seem to look past what I did all those years ago. Something I did when we were kids. **Kids** Evan. I didn’t have control of my powers, didn’t know what I was capable of. And now that’s all she sees.”

_“Great job Murphy. Now he’s really worried about me.”_

Connor turned away, feeling the tears creep up on him.

“Connor...”

“I’m fine Evan. I’m fine...”

 

Connor flinched when Evan’s hand turned his head, but he didn’t pull away from the contact, both physical and from their eyes.

“Oh it’s alright Connor. You have friends to help now. You’re not alone anymore.”

Connor closed his eyes as a rough paper towel was pressed to his cheeks, Evan wiping away his tears.

“Ev?”

“Yeah, Con?”

“Where did you get that napkin and why is it so rough?”

Evan blushed and finished wiping.

“I, uh, I made it. It’s you know, a Demeter thing. Trees and all.”

They both shared a laugh and looked at each other a bit longer than was normal.

“Oh my gods. You two are **totally gay for each other!** ”

Jared’s sudden entrance and remark snapped them out of it, both scooting apart just a bit.

“Oh man, that’s funny. C’mon loverboys, We’re almost there. Don’t get lost in each other’s eyes in the meantime!”

_“Gods damn it Kleinman. We were getting somewhere.”_

And with that the two boys made it to the lunch car, where everyone else was waiting.

 

Alana and Zoe already sat together at a table. Alana waved the boys over, Evan taking a seat by the window. Before Connor could take a seat next to the son of Demeter, Jared took it. Connor let out an annoyed sound, but took over a seat at the table next to the rest of the group.

“Alright, now that we’ve got a chance to settle down and talk,” Alana took out a small map and placed it on the table. “I should probably explain what’s going on.”

“Yes, please. Thanks to Kleinman, the rest of us have no clue what the fuck we’re doing.” Connor growled.

“Well, we’re heading to Las Vegas,” Alana pointed to it on the map. “And with any luck and no interruptions, we should be there in sixty hours by train.”

“What’s in Vegas?” Evan asked.

“There’s been reports of Medusa coming back and deciding to head to Vegas, for whatever reason,” Zoe briefed.

“So, we’re taking on Medusa? That’s a damn kid’s quest!” Connor complained.

“Well, we’ve also got that prophecy hanging over our heads,” Alana reminded.  Connor shut his mouth, grabbing the cup of water placed in front of him and taking a sip.

“Look, there’s obviously gotta be more to this quest than going and fighting a gorgon,” Zoe reasoned.

“Things’ll be revealed to us eventually,” Evan mumbled, half-resting his head on his hand as he stared out the window at the passing landscape.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : )

“Jared leave me alone please. Just let me sleep.”

The day winding down, they had all retired to their collective rooms to rest. Which is **exactly** what Jared isn’t letting him do.

“Aw what's the matter Tree Hugger? Want to sleep and have some **nice**  dreams about your boyfriend?” Jared wiggled his eyebrows for comedic effect, a stupid grin on his face.

_“Why does he keep bothering me, even though he claims to not know me? ”_

Evan sighed.

_“Maybe I should talk to him about it...”_

Luckily for Evan, Jared had finally stopped making jokes about what he saw, and had turned over to read some weird book in Latin.

“Um...Jared?”

A pause.

“Yeah,Evan?”

Evan steeled himself, unsure of the reaction he might get.

“Do you...do you really not remember me from all that time ago?”

“...What if I did? What difference would it make?”

Evan let out the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

“It would make a huge difference Jared. It wouldn’t be like it used to, but that’s okay! It’s more than  just me and you, we would have an entire..what did you used to call us… a whole fam squad.”

Evan turned over to look at Jared with that, smiling along with Jared.

“I did used to say that, didn’t I?”

They both laughed at that, the pleasant  memories of days past flowing in.

“Alright Tree boy. But don’t expect me to be nice to your boyfriend all of a sudden.”

Evan blushed, a mock petulant face plastered on.

“He’s not my boyfriend Jared! But I’ll make a deal with you.”

Jared perked up at that thought.

“Is it money related?”

Evan chuckled, remembering that Jared would do almost anything for the right price.

“No, but it’s better. You **consistently** try and make an effort to be nice to Connor, and I’ll make you a pair of enchanted heelys.”

“...What kind of enchantment..”

_“Yep, I knew he’d bite with that one.”_

“They’ll be able to roll on any solid surface perfectly, with no friction or anything at all. You’ll be able to literally ride them anywhere, as long as there’s ground. ”

“You, Evan Hansen, have got yourself a deal.”

They shook on it, and talked throughout the night, reliving old memories when you weren’t usually about to die.

 

Meanwhile, only a room over, Connor was laying by himself. It was his choice, mostly saying he wanted his own room for personal reasons. Mostly, he didn’t want anyone to witness him crying in his sleep. Both times he managed to sleep, he’d been plagued by nightmares. Not normal demigod nightmares, from what he could tell. Now he was mulling them over, trying to reason with himself of why his brain kept bringing up his past screw ups.

_Zoe’s back in my life, maybe that’s why?_

Except she wasn’t really back in his life, as she was still keeping him at an arm’s length. They had no real conversations together without the others as mediators. He could tell she was trying her best to not lunge at him and stab him in the side.

Again, he can’t blame her, at all. She’s honestly done nothing wrong, really.

Except she kind of has, Connor realized. She’s started as many fights as Connor. Before Connor’s thoughts to linger, he heard something breaking outside the room. Connor quickly grabbed his Falcon’s Talons, dashing out of the room just in time to see something staring at him. The train was passing through a tunnel, but Connor could still tell whatever the hell was on the train was about to dart off.

He rushed towards the sound of its escape, towards the back of the train. The train finally exited the tunnel, and the full moon came through the windows to reveal that there was a _harpy_ and it was carrying Zoe.

“What the fuck?!” Connor screeched, moving even quicker. The harpy ripped open the door of the caboose, glancing back at Connor once before it flew out.

“No, no, no!” Connor hurried, reaching to grab the harpy by the wings. He managed to rip out a single mangy feather. “Zoe!” He cried out as he watched the monster escape with his sister.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are bad, then they get a little better.

“Alright, Murphy, repeat everything you just said, but slower.” Jared told Connor while Evan was helping to calm the lanky boy.

Alana looked quite alarmed, probably picking up on half of what Connor managed to babble. The son of Pluto was holding the feather he ripped off the harpy, staring at it.

“Zoe was taken by a harpy. I...I wasn’t able to catch it. It escaped through the back,” Connor took another shaky breath. 

“How is that possible? Zoe and I were sharing our room..” Alana reached to grab the feather. Connor retracted his hands, holding it closer to his chest and staring at Alana with wide, almost fearful eyes. 

“Why would the harpy target Zoe?” Jared thought aloud. “I mean, all of us would be eligible kidnap victims. Alana’s a female satyr and a helluva fighter, Evan’s one of Demeter’s most powerful children, and Connor’s literally the child of one of the Big Three.”

“Maybe because she’s the weakest of us,” Evan said.

Alana and Jared looked at Evan in confusion. Evan looked at Connor again as the boy folded up and hugged his knees, hiding his face. The blonde sighed.

“Zoe can’t use any abilities that most other children of Hades can use. The most she can do is sense and speak to the dead,” Evan explained. “I’m actually surprised you didn’t know, Alana.”

“I always thought she was just trying to preserve herself for emergencies,” The satyr muttered.

“Alright, next question,” Jared clapped his hands together. “Why a harpy?”

“They can fly, I guess.”

“Yes but why would a harpy just  _ kidnap _ her?” Jared asked.

“It works for someone,” Alana speculated.

“Aren’t you fuckin’ smart?” Connor’s sudden and venomous comment surprised everyone as they looked to the tall teen, who had uncurled himself and now had a rather distant yet angry gaze. “Of course it’s working for someone! Harpies are too damn stupid to just work on their own. Plus, how the fuck would a harpy know which one of us was magically inept?”

The other three stayed silent.

“I’m gonna hunt that damn bird lady down and tear it apart myself,” Connor got to his feet. “As soon as this train stops, I’m getting the hell off.”

 

_ “Ooh gods, what am I supposed to do?” _

The train was thirty minutes away from Vegas, and Evan had no idea how to calm Connor down. After he had stormed off into his room, and hadn’t come out since.

“Alana, can you help me get him calmed down? I think we can both agree we need him calm when we get off, so he doesn’t go on a rampage.”

Alana shook her head, a sad smile on her face.

“As much as I’d like to help Ev, we need you for this one. I already tried, and after what I said, i’m the worst option we have right now. ”

Evan looked at Jared, whose face was practically a copy of Alana’s.

“As much as i’d like to make good on our deal, you and I both know that when he’s upset our past history won’t be able to be pushed aside. This one’s all yours Tree boy.”

After some jokes from Jared and a pep talk from Alana, Evan found himself in front of Connor’s door.

_ “Alright, Hansen. Just go in there, provide some comfort, and save the day.” _

“Connor? It’s me, Evan. Can I come in?”

“...Evan, just go. I’m fine.”

_ “Oh man, he’s in one of these moods. I'm gonna have to lay on my non-existent charm on this one.” _

“Connor just let me in. I'm not gonna leave until you do. If it makes you feel any better, I won’t say a word until you want me to. ”

Evan heard footsteps and the door unlocking, Connor opening the door just enough for Evan to see his eyes, red from crying.

“C’mon.”

And with that Evan closed the door behind him, locking it for good measure, while Connor sat on his bed, feather in hand, in the position Evan assumed he had been since he had locked himself in.

Evan sat in the spare chair in the corner of the room, not wanting to invade Connor’s privacy. He didn’t have to wait long however, before Connor looked at Evan, heartbreak clear in his eyes.

“I...I couldn’t save her Evan, I had tried...but it wasn’t good enough  **I** wasn’t good enough,  **I’ve never been good enough.** ”

Connor burst out in a fresh wave of tears, Evan surging forward to drape an arm around his shoulder, holding him tight.

“Connor, that’s not true. No matter how quick you were to respond, Zoe would have still been kidnapped. You’d have to be Hermes to even have a shot at grabbing it. It’s not your fault, Connor.”

“You really think so Evan? Truely?”

Evan smiled, one which he unknowingly picked up from Alana always doing it to him.

“I do, Connor. I really do.”

Connor smiled back, moving so that he could lay on Evan’s shoulder.

“Connor?”

“Yeah, Evan?”

“Can I do something real quick? I don’t have to get up, just...I think it’ll help you feel better.”

A short pause, Connor no doubt wondering what it could be.

“Yeah. Yeah, go ahead Ev.”

Evan proceeded to close his eyes and concentrate.

_ “C’mon Hansen. You did it once, you can do it again...” _

Shortly after, the smell of fresh apples permeated the air, as a small, thick apple tree laden with apples grew right in front of them.

Evan heard Connor gasp, his face completely stunned. Immediately after, Connor wrapped his arms around Evan in a tight hug, one that Evan quickly reciprocated.

“Thank you...thank you so much Evan...”

They ended up dozing off like that, arms entangled in a warm, loving hug.


	12. Chapter 12

Evan woke up to soft knocks on the door, a sore back, and a very beautiful boy wrapped around him.

_ “Oh. we fell asleep, on the bed. Wait...” _

Evan stiffened as the situation rammed into his sleep addled brain.

_ “I SLEPT WITH CONNOR MURPHY!” _

Evan just barely managed to hold back a scream, calmed down slightly from the still blooming apple tree in front of him. 

“Um, yeah, who is it?”

Connor lifted his head from Evan’s arm, his eyes blinking away the sleep.

“It’s me Jared, y’all awake in there?”

“Yes, Kleinman, we’re awake, now what do you want.”

Evan winced at the harsh tone Connor had used, anxious for when his two friends finally start to get along.

“There ya are Murphy. You feeling alright buddy?”

Connor reeled back slightly, unprepared for the genuine concern in Jared’s voice.

_ “There ya go, Jared! Great start.” _

“Um, yeah, I’m alright. Evan helped me out.”

“That’s good to hear. You guys got 5 minutes max to be ready to leave, the train’s stopping in 10, and Alana wants to have a quick debrief before we get off.”

Evan nodded, and then blushed in embarrassment since he forgot Jared couldn’t see him.

“Thanks Jared! We’ll be out of here by then.”

“We’ll be waiting in the lunch car!”

And with that Jared’s footsteps were receding down the hall.

“You ready to face the world, Connor.”

He nodded, his expression resolute.

“Bring on the monsters. I’m getting my sister back.”

 

Connor dusted himself off and straightened himself up before he and Evan headed to the lunch car. They both stayed awkwardly quiet. Connor opened the door to the car, seeing Alana and Jared sitting and waiting at a table already. Walking over, Connor took over the empty seat next to Alana. Evan took the seat next to Jared.

Alana was quick to repeat the obvious task before them: kill Medusa.

“Look, I’ll help out with the Medusa, but after that, I’ve got to hunt down that damn harpy,” Connor said. “I’m not gonna just lose my sister again.”

The train screeched to a stop. The conductor announced the stop on the intercom, the four teens heading to the doors. Evan suddenly grabbed Connor’s hand when he saw how many people were in the train station, and Connor silently replied by squeezing the freckled boy’s hand. Alana lead the way through the noisy area into the even noisier- and far brighter- city. Connor had to blink a few times to adjust to the lights.

It was sunset, making the headache inducing luminous city even worse, in Connor’s opinion. If he wasn’t completely fucking pissed, he probably could have an appreciation for the beauty of Las Vegas, but being somewhat dehydrated from crying already left him with half of a headache.

“We should find a place to stay,” Alana told the boys. 

“We  _ need  _ to find the gorgon,” Connor growled. “The quicker we deal with that slithery bitch, the quicker  _ I  _ can go find Zoe.”

“Connor, we should probably make sure we’re fresh enough to fight,” Evan’s tone was hush and calm, but Connor still managed to hear him over the unruly and blaring sounds of the city. Connor was about to lash out again, but looking into Evan’s summer-time leaf-green eyes seemed to calm him. 

“Fine. Let’s...let’s find somewhere to stay.” 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i came back from watching infinity war and thats why this update's a lil late lmao i'm dying

ared personally loved the place. The lights, the sounds,  **the strip clubs.** Everything about Vegas was better than what he had dreamed of.

“Alrighty, quest leader, where exactly are we gonna sleep for the night?”

Alana turned to look over her shoulder as she walked to respond.

“No idea. But i’m sure we’ll stumble across some place. Mercury’s children are naturally lucky right?”

_ “Well,well, looks like someone realizes my worth.” _

“Well in that case,” Jared scooched past Evan and Connor, pulling just ahead of Alana. “I should lead.  For now at least. It’ll give us the best chance of finding a hotel to stay at.”

And with that, Jared let his instincts lead the group, until about 15 minutes later, they were in front of the flashiest place Jared had ever seen.

“The Lotus Hotel..Hey Alana, what about here?”

Jared turned, only to see Alana’s face relax.

“Not here Jared. Grover told me about this place. It makes minutes and days, seem like an eternity. You become immortal and lost in time, never to leave again.”

_ “Oh. Well that doesn’t sound fun.” _

“Well then, let's avoid this place like the plague, and we’re sure to find somewhere to stay.”

No more than 5 more minutes of walking around they managed to find a large hotel, near the city square.

“Mardi Gras Hotel and Casino...ay Alana, is this place gonna trap us forever?”

“Nope. It’s perfect.”

After some haggling and Mist manipulation, Alana and Evan decided to stay in one room, while Connor actually  **volunteered to bunk with Jared** .

“By the gods, these beds are comfy as hell. Whatchu think Murphy? You feelin it too?”

Connor nodded, preoccupied with pulling off his black combat boots.

Jared laid back, almost falling asleep, except for one thing…

_ “Why would Murphy ask to bunk with me? He hates me! I’ve given the man nothing but shit ever since i met him!” _

“Hey Kleinman.”

Jared swallowed, worried that an ass whooping may be incoming.

“Thanks. I appreciate you making the effort, even though you hate me. You don’t have to do it though. Evan doesn’t control you.”

Jared paused for a moment, before giving Connor what he needed to hear.

“Well Murphy, have you ever considered that I gave you shit ws because once you arrived, I wasn’t at the bottom of the food chain?”

Connor whipped around, confusion written all over his face.

“What’s that supposed to mean Jared?”

Jared shrugged, brushing the subject off as he climbed into the bed.

“It’s nothing Murphy. Just know you’re not the only one with problems, yeah?”

“Wait Jared-”

“Wake me up once you’re finished in the shower.”

Jared then turned over, effectively cutting off the conversation.

_ “Can’t have ol death boy know all my secrets. Gotta be the amazing and mysterious Jared Kleinman.” _

That was the last thought before Jared closed his eyes, and fell into a dreamless sleep.

 

Evan looked in the bathroom mirror after ruffling his hair dry, carding his hands through the short blonde locks to adjust it to its usual style. Satisfied, he exited the bathroom to find Alana sitting on one of the beds, looking at the wall like it was the most interesting wall in the world.

“Alana?”

The satyr blinked a few times before looking over at Evan.

“Are you alright?”

“I…” Alana looked unsure. “I...what’s the point in lying? No, Evan, I’m not okay.”

“Is this about Zoe?” Evan inquired.

Alana looked away, staring at the floor now.

“It’s not your fault,” He tried to reassure.

“Evan, who’s fault could it be other than mine? Zoe and I shared the room- I...I should’ve been able to wake up, I should’ve been able to...to do something!” Alana began to wipe away the tears from her face.

“No one was expecting it, Alana!”

“I should’ve been! I should’ve been awake and ready!”

“It’s not-”

“-I’m supposed to be able to protect half-bloods!  _ I’m supposed to be able to protect  _ **_her_ ** _! _ ”

The room was silent, aside from Alana’s sniffling.

“I just…” Alana’s voice was so broken. “I just love her so much, Evan...I can’t lose her.”

“Alana…” Evan tried to find words, but they were failing him in that moment. 

“If I could go back, I would…” Alana spoke like a soldier far past his years, remembering what could’ve been. Then, a fire seemed to spark in her eyes. “When Connor leaves to search for Zoe, I’m going with him. I refuse to let the girl I love be taken from me.”

Evan felt his mouth go dry at the determination in Alana’s tone. She’s always been driven, but the way she spoke now was so deadly, like the rattling of a snake’s tail before it strikes. 

Alana Beck was already someone compelled to do her job, but she was sure to stick to the rules. But a  _ vengeful  _ Alana Beck was ready to do anything.

For the first time, Evan felt truly frightened of his friend.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dreams fucking suck when you're a demigod

Zoe woke with a start, snapped to consciousness with the sound of waves crashing beneath her.

_ “How the hell did I get here? The last thing I remember is-” _

“Oh! You’re awake!”

Zoe whipped her head to the right, and was greeted with the sight of an emaciated, brown feathered harpy.

“Do take it easy, love. The master would hate it if his meal was spoiled.”

She let a cackle, more squawk than laugh.

“Master? Who the fuck are you talking about? ”

The harpy locked eyes with Zoe, a malicious grin on her face.

“Don’t worry about it darling. Now relax, or this will hurt much more than it needs to be.”

“Wait, what are you-”

The harpy wrapped chains around her wrists and pulled back, pinning her arms to the pillar of rock her waist was already chained to. Upon closer inspection, there were no weak points.

_ “And even if there was, how the hell would I get away from ol birdy bitch? I don’t have any powers I can kill her with, and Poseidon sure as hell ain’t my daddy.” _

Frustrated at her current situation, Zoe instead chose to try and peel some information from her warden, who was currently perched on a second, smaller pillar next to the one Zoe was chained to.

“So harpy lady, why would you nab me of all people? My dad is Hades you know, I can...”

The harpy let out a burst of laughter, effectively cutting Zoe off.

“Oh sweetheart, if you had inherited your father’s powers like your brother did, you wouldn’t be here, now would you?”

Zoe fell silent, the harpy letting out what Zoe felt was the only thing she’d be hearing for a while.

“Instead of laughing at me, the least you can do is tell me your name.”

“Aviandra. Pleasure to meet you Zoe.”

“Well Aviandra, it’ll be a pleasure when I ram my spear up your ass.”

“You’ll have to wait for that, honey. Now sleep.”

With that, Aviandra produced a vial and wafted it under Zoe’s nose.

Before Zoe slipped off into unconsciousness, her last thought was, _ “I swear, Im gonna get outta here bird bitch. Just you wait.” _

And then there was darkness.

  
  


Once again, Connor fell victim to nightmares during the night. But this time, it seemed more like a regular demigod dream rather than the repeating of a memory. He saw Zoe standing on a cliff, chained up. Waves crashed against the cliff, but they sounded far more violent than normal waves. The surface of the water broke as a beast, a  _ giant snake,  _ arose, jaw unhinged to consume its prey. The scene fell dark.

“Zoe!” Connor called out, almost throwing himself out of the hotel bed. He gripped his shirt, trying to breath.

“Murphy, what the fuck are you yelling for?” Jared mumbled as he rose out of bed, blindly reaching for his glasses and putting them on.

“Shit, shit, shit…” Connor muttered, running a hand through his own hair in further attempts to get himself together.

“Murphy?” Connor didn’t notice Jared even got out of bed until the shorter Roman was at Connor’s bedside. “Murphy, are you good, man? Do you need a paper bag?”

“No, no,” The taller of the two took in a shaky breath, holding it and releasing it. His pulse was starting to steady itself. “I...I saw Zoe. She’s in danger- we’ve got to-”

Jared held up a hand, silently telling Connor to pause. “Alana’s gonna want to hear this.”

Connor nodded in agreement. “Right.”

The dream replayed in his mind for a brief moment, causing a shiver down Connor’s spine.

“Right.” He repeated, half to himself.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jared "my attempts to lighten the mood continued to be for naught" kleinman

Evan wasn’t completely sure what was going on, except Connor and Alana had talked, and called a group meeting in the room he had shared that night with Alana.

_“I hope everything's alright, especially about what Alana was saying last night...”_

Evan looked up as Connor, Jared, and Alana walked in at once.

“Alright,everyone. Connor here has apparently has some kind of demigod, dream premonition about Zoe. Seeing as Connor’s the one with the dream, I’ll let him take over.”

Jared sat down next to Evan, giving a gesture indicating that Connor could now start.

“Alright. So I had a dream that Zoe was chained up to a rock, right? And, uh, she was chained to rock, somewhere in the middle of a fuckin ocean it seems, when a giant fucking snake came out of the water, **and ate Zoe.** ”

Connor took a deep breath, letting out his story all in one breath, as everyone else sat shocked. Evan looked over to Alana on the bed, her face full of rage.

_“Oh, crap. I hope she doesn’t do, I dunno, go crazy. We need cool, calm, and calculated Alana.”_

Evan let out a fake cough, bringing everyone’s eyes on him.

“Well, uh, now we at least have something to go on. Once we kill Medusa, we’ll probably get some clue to where Zoe is. Then we can go find her, and bring her home.”

Although Evan spoke with confidence, on the inside he was freaking out.

_“A snake? A_ **_giant snake_ ** _at that? How are we gonna take it down? Wait, wasn’t there some story...”_

Jared spoke up, echoing what Evan was thinking.

“Wait a minute, don’t you Greeks have a story like that? Guy by the name of Percy or somethin who kills a snake?”

“Wait a minute...” Alana snapped her fingers, her internal light bulb going off, “There is! Kleinman, you’re a genius!”

“I am? I mean, of course I am! What am I saying.”

Alana reached into the bag she had brought along, and pulled out an ancient looking book.

“This,” she starts, opening the book as she speaks, “was given to me by Athena herself. To make a long story short, it’s a giant history book of everything that’s ever happened, in the history of ever. And here,” she says, showing the book to everyone, “is the story of Princess Andromeda, who was chained to a rock by Poseidon, and was gonna get swallowed by the sea serpent Cetus, until Perseus saved her.”

Jared smiled, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Sounds kinky.”

Connor looked at Jared, confusion on his face.

“What are you talking about Kleinman?”

“Nothing. Carry on.”

“Um, Alana? How exactly _did_ Perseus kill this Fetus guy? ”

Everyone let out a chuckle, Evan looking as confused as ever.

“It’s Cetus Evan. And according to the book, Perseus had cut off Medusa’s head, and then showed it to him, turning Cetus to stone.”

_“Well. This doesn’t sound easy.”_

Connor stood from where he sat, brushed himself off.

“Well, we know what to do. Just not how to do it, or where to go. Sounds like a normal quest. Let’s head on out then, don’t need my sister getting eaten.”

On that note, everyone grabbed their things, and filed out, heading off to find Medusa.

 

The entire first half of the day was composed of asking people about strange happenings and Alana trying to find Medusa via smell. Unfortunately, there were more monsters than previously thought in the Sin City.

Connor and Alana went uptown, finding a few leads mostly composed of missing person reports, and ended up having to take care of a few sphinxes that housed themselves in an alley.

Jared and Evan headed through downtown Vegas. Evan found himself glad that he didn’t bring Connor or Alana with him, as there were a few harpies pickpocketing and hiding around. Evan questioned a few of the nymphs residing in the cacti and a few of the palm trees, the son of Demeter writing down a few of the biggest hints. Jared almost got his ass kicked after flirting with one of the Cacti nymphs, to which Evan had to help the Roman remove a few needles from his back.

Eventually, the four regathered in front of the Fountains of Bellagio, comparing notes with each other just as night came around.

“Alright, so, all of our leads are pointing to the snake bitch being in this-” Connor pointed on a map of Vegas. “-Casino, working as a card dealer.”

“Hell yeah, a Casino!” Jared grinned widely.

“Jared, most of us are under age.” Evan pointed out.

“Under age to gamble and drink, but minors are allowed to walk around in casinos.” Jared replied, still smiling like the Joker.

“How are we supposed to decapitate Medusa in a casino, which is full of people?” Evan asked Alana and Connor.

“We’re gonna have to do a lot, but it is possible. We work quick, we get that head, and we find Zoe.” Connor rolled the map back up, putting it into Alana’s bag. Jared let out a snort. “What’s so damn funny, Kleinman?”

“You really want that head, don’t ya, Murphy?”

Jared yelped as Evan smacked him.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so im really really sorry about the wait! There was some stuff goin on in our lives and it was just a shit storm to say the least  
> BUTT  
> Because of this there is going to be a mass dump of ALL chapters for both Being Found and Fine, Cool, and Chill, stretched over uhhhhh, like some days. Im dumping 3 chapters for each fic now soooo...ye  
> Again, super sorry, but here ya go.
> 
> -Hey, Winter ducking through here to make a few quick edits. Major apologies about the lack of activity from either of us- life's a sham and every move is wrong.

As soon as Connor’s feet crossed the threshold, he was assaulted by the numerous lights and smells, reminding him why he hated the place since he first got here.

_“By Jupiter’s beard, how the hell do people stand this place?”_

Looking over his shoulder, he could tell Evan was just as uncomfortable as he was.

Jared was the first to voice what they were all thinking.

“Uh guys? How are we supposed to find a card dealing snake lady in this magnificent establishment?”

_“Shit he’s right. None of us have been in a casino before? How are we gonna-”_

“Uh, guys?”

Connor turned to where Evan’s timid squeak had come from.

“Yeah,Ev? What is it?”

“I think I know where she is.”

He slowly raised a finger at point at a gaudy, neon green sign that read ‘Scales in Spades’.

“Yep. That’s probably it.”

As they got closer, Connor could hear the sounds of boisterous laughter, and as they turned they were greeted with a table full of men and women playing poker.

Alana walked forward next to Connor, both trying to keep out of sight.

_“Gods I hope they’re not all monsters.”_

“Alana, what's the situation? She the the only monster?”

She of course being the woman with green hair and shades, standing at the head of the table.

“Thankfully she’s the only one. How we gonna get her away from the players?”

“If you don’t mind, I, the amazing Jared Kleinman, have an idea. Watch and learn.”

Jared pushed past Connor and Alana, and forced himself a spot at the table.

“Let me in, dealer. I’ll bet a meeting with you, if I win.”

Albeit suspicious, Medusa dealt Jared a hand, nodding her agreement to his bet. Connor felt Evan creep up next to him, his anxiety clearly getting the best of him.

“Connor, what if he doesn’t win?”

“He will Evan. He will.”

And win he did, with what was apparently called a straight flush, and he sauntered back to the group after a short talk with Medusa.

“Well everyone, she has agreed to meet us in the back alley of the building where the dumpsters are.”

“Nice job, Kleinman. ”

“Anytime, Murphy.”

By the time they maneuvered their way through the crowds of people to the back of the building, Medusa was already there, arms crossed, foot tapping.

“Took you demigods long enough to get here. Now let me guess,” she turned to face them as she talked, everyone turning away, just in case, “someone’s been kidnapped, most likely one of your friends, to be this generation’s Andromeda, so now we’re gonna fight, you’re gonna cut of my head, and then go on your merry way to kill someone with it.”

Connor and the others looked at one another, obviously surprised by the gorgon’s attitude.

_“She must be really tired of doing this, if that’s how she is.”_

“Um, yeah, pretty much. We need your head to kill this Fetus guy. ”

Medusa sighed.

“Well at least it’s not another Perseus killing me this time. That shit gets real old, real quick.”

Connor felt, rather than heard Medusa lunged at him, and his instincts reacted, rolling him out the way as he pulled on his Falcon’s Talons, putting himself low to the round, like a cat ready to pounce.

“Alana, how are we supposed to **kill the bitch** , if we can’t even look at her!?”

Connor risked a look towards Alana, catching the sight of her muscular goat legs propelling her off the ground.

“Evan! Can you tie her down with some vines?

“I tried already! I can’t focus!”

_“Fuck! How are supposed to...WAIT! ITHINK I GOT IT.”_

“Everybody, keep her busy! I have an idea!”

Without waiting to see, Connor reached out to the dead, searching for one particular person…THERE!

_“There you are! Listen man, I know you’re Greek, and I’m Roman, but my new friends are Greek, and we’re having trouble killing this Gorgon, and something tells me you can help. If you help us, i’ll buy you a happy meal as soon as possible. Deal?”_

There was a long pause, so much so, that Connor thought he failed, but then he heard a sigh in his mind.

_“...Fine”_

And with that a shimmering, undead warrior appeared behind Medusa, and when he spoke, his voice was clear, and deep.

“Hello, Medusa. Long time no see.”

Medusa whipped around, her face full of rage.

“GODS DAMN IT, NOT AGA-”

The warrior lopped her head off, and wrapped it in a bag, handing it to Connor.

“I take it you’ll abide by our deal, Murphy?”

“Uh, yeah, of course.”

The warrior inspected Connor for a bit, before smiling and disappearing in Mist.

Alana walked up to Connor, confusion written on her face.

“Connor? Did...did you just summon the **original Perseus?** ”

“Uh, yeah? Who better to kill Medusa, than the first guy who did it, right?”

Jared snickered, amused by the current situation.

“Okay, two things. First, she is gonna be salty about that for ages. And second off, you finally got that head, didn’t you Murphy?”

This time Connor smacked Jared.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BAAAACKSTORRRRY
> 
> -(winter) oh hi explanations

After finishing their business in Las Vegas, the four were quick to hurry out of the city. Alana and Connor wanted to find Zoe as quick as possible, Evan couldn’t take anymore of the flashiness of the place, and Jared needed to be taken out of there before he got cocky enough to try gamble his life away.

With a fair amount of convincing, they got their hands on a rather old and half-broken down rental SUV, heading westward. Connor took on driving this time, reassuring the group that he actually knew what he was doing.

 

It was still nighttime, the moon casting a rather haunting glow on the Mojave Desert. Jared slept on one of the back seats, Alana sitting next to him with her Greek History book open. Evan sat in the the passenger seat, staring out the window at the landscape. He didn’t turn his head when he heard Alana closing her book, shifting to possibly get a little bit of sleep herself.

Evan glanced over at Connor in the Driver’s seat, tired eyes looking at the road ahead with one hand on the wheel. He was leaning his head on his other hand. Evan looked back to make sure Alana was asleep before turning back to Connor.

“Hey, Con?”

“Hm?” Connor didn’t take his eyes off the road.

“Did, uh…Why doesn’t Zoe like you? You don’t have to answer, I’m probably just being nosy and stupid-”

“Ev, it’s fine,” Connor lifted his head off his other hand to put it on the wheel. “You deserve to know, anyway. To make the long story short, me and Zoe have never really been on the same page.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve had problems for a long time. Maybe it’s because I’m Roman and she’s Greek, or maybe it’s because I’m bad at being a brother, but we’ve never been that...together on things.” Connor sighed. “I thought I was doing good just before I went into training, but then I...I did something really bad, Ev.”

“It can’t be that bad-”

“I hurt her, Evan. Physically harmed her.”

Evan’s words dried up on his tongue.

“We were at this orchard, and our stepdad- Larry- he gave me this toy plane as some kind of peace offering. I was so fuckin’ happy. Then when the plane was broken, I remember getting so angry, like I was a pyre and the plane breaking was some kind of matchstick,” Connor’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. “I was screamin’ ‘n everything, and my abilities ended up killing the entire orchard. Zoe was trying to make me calm down. When she tried to touch me…I used a dagger Pluto gave me as a birthday gift to slash the back of her arm. It wasn’t that deep but I still…”

Connor went quiet, but Evan understood what he was saying. Evan looked at his lap awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

“I ended up giving the dagger to her as some kind of fucked up olive branch.” Connor admitted. “Makes sense that she wouldn’t want something from her mess of a brother.” He leaned his head back on a hand again.

“I guess I understand why she’s so mad,” Evan fidgeted with his hands. “But you’ve got problems. What did your stepdad do after your freak-out?” Evan hated to use the phrase, but it was the only thing that came to mind at the moment.

“Larry was obviously pissed. Lashed out, and sent me to my room. Didn’t even try to investigate the possibility of me having issues other than typical demigod stuff like ADHD and all that. I think he even just tried to blame my ‘violent tendencies’ on the fact that my actual father’s a Roman.”

“Wait, your stepdad knows about you and Zoe’s godly parentage?”

“Yep,” Connor snorted softly. “I think it made him mad sometimes that he wasn’t some great god like our actual father. At the end of the day, me ‘n Zoe just ended up with two shitty dads and a mom who never knew how to handle the shit life threw at her.” Connor paused before glancing at Evan briefly, the two catching each other’s eyes before the taller put his attention back on the road. “What about you, Ev? What’s life managed to throw at you?”

Evan blinked, not expecting the question. “Well, my mom’s a mortal. Well, one of my moms.”

“So you’re one of those demigods?”

“What?”

“Well, you’ve got two moms, one’s godly, the other isn’t. Still, both are yours. Guess I’m more used to seeing Apollo kids like that. Anyway, continue.”

“Well, like I said, one of moms is mortal. She’s a nurse, but she’s been going to law school. It’s left her schedule kind of full, so I...don’t get much time to see her. But she’s a nice mom, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“I mean, I love my mom and everything but I just feel...kind of abandoned, if that makes any sense? I mean, there’s plenty of Year-round campers who actually have been abandoned by their mortal parent, and they’re fine with it, but the limited contact with my mom is...kind of rough.” Evan drummed his fingers on his legs. “Other than that, I was claimed kind of late. Alana saved me from a minotaur that attacked our school and then took me straight to camp when I was about fifteen.”

“That’s rough buddy. Better than knowing your godly parent your entire life but being forced to keep your distance, in my opinion.”

“I guess so,” Evan shrugged.

The drive continued in complete silence, aside from the sounds of sleeping from the two in the back.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Evan's gay for trees
> 
> -(winter) sorry connor, but evan's already in a relationship with trees

“FUCK!”

Evan jumped up, woken by the rage filled shout. He looked over at Connor, who was absolutely **seething**.

“Connor? What’s wrong?”

Connor sighed and and put his hand to his face in frustration.

“The stupid car is broke. Probably the engine, and none of us are qualified to fix it. So now we gotta hoof it from here.”

As soon as Connor finished, Alana and Jared emerged from the back of the van, blinking the sleep out of their eyes.

“C’mon Murphy, can’t you cook something up to make this hunk of junk move?”

“Unfortunately, no. I don’t think a dead child of Hephaestus would take kindly to being summoned to fix and old ass van with one wheel in the grave.”

While everyone debated on what they should do next, Evan stepped out of the car, and immediately felt a strong presence in the air, recognizing it for what it was an instant.

He rushed back into the car, startling everyone inside.

"Guys! I know where we are! Come outside!"

Evan stood outside tapping his feet faster than a hummingbird that had chugged a gallon of 5 hour energy. After what seemed like an eternity, Jared, Connor, and Alana had come to join Evan outside.

Jared was easily the most annoyed out of all of them.

“Alright Tree Boy. Spill the beans, what the hell has you so excited?”

“You’ll see.” he smugly replied, walking off into the distance.

After walking for more than 30 minutes, Connor was the first to notice the trees on the horizon.

“Evan, is that a-”

“Uh, uh uh,” Evan interrupted, “No questions until we get there.”

Albeit annoyed, everyone decided to play along with Evan’s little game, seeing that he was invigorated for the first time since they left for the quest.

_“Oh man, these guys are gonna love it when we get there, I’ve only seen this place in pictures...”_

Soon enough the reached the edge of the forest, and Evan turned around, arms outstretched for dramatic flair.

“This my friends, is the beautiful Sequoia National Park, surrounded by an entire redwood forest, having stood the test of time here in America, by-”

“Okay, okay, we get it Tree Boy, you have a crush on trees, now lets see if we can find some food or water here. I’m starving.”

After saying his piece, Jared pushed past Evan, closely followed by Alana.

_“I can’t believe it. How can they not love this place? This forest is one of the few National Parks, that's actually a park!”_

“Hey Evan?”

Connor walked up to Evan and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I’d like it if you told me about this place. Jared doesn’t have an appreciation for nature like we do.”

“Thank you, Connor. I would love to tell you all I know about these trees.”

If either of them noticed that they were holding hands as they talked, neither of them minded.

 

 

“So, Alana, does this place check out?” Jared asked as they found a Lodge.

“Nothing feels off, but stay on your toes,” She replied, voice dry as she headed to the front door. Opening it up, she was immediately greeted with a very smiley lady at the front desk.

“Welcome to the Hawkskill Lodge, how might I help you?”

The first thing that Jared noticed about the woman was her almost bird-like face. He glanced at Alana, but she was just wearily staring forward.

“We’d like a standard room,” The satyr was already trying to take out some cash.

“Now, now, dear, no need to pay now. Pay later, after your stay.” The woman cooed. Now Alana was starting to look doubtful, but didn’t say anything as she was handed some keys. “Your room is just down the hall. Enjoy your stay.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Alana already headed away, Jared following close behind.

She unlocked the door, opening it to reveal a rather rustic looking room, with two beds and several nice but older looking accommodations, like an old box TV and a small fridge in the corner. Alana shouldered off her bag, placing it by one of the beds.

“Shouldn’t we find Murphy and Evan?”

“They’ll find their way here,” Alana flopped down on a bed. “They’re practically adults who can take care of themselves.”

“I’m not sure we’re talking about the same people, Beck,” Jared tried to keep his tone joking till he noticed Alana not responding. She was just staring to the ceiling. “Beck?”

Alana glanced at the Roman, then back to the ceiling.

“Alana.”

Still nothing.

“Alana, something’s on your mind. Just spit it out.”

“Just...go away, Jared,” Alana turned on her side.

“No, something’s clearly throwin’ you off your game. Speak your mind.”

“Go. Away.” Alana repeated.

“Nope.” Jared sat on the bed. “Tell me.”

The room was silent for a moment before Jared noticed Alana’s sniffling.

“Shit, you’re crying,” Jared stated dumbly. “Is this about Zoe?”

“What do you think?” Alana mumbled, still not looking at Jared. “Please, Jared. Just...leave me alone.”

Jared went quiet, then got to his feet. “Fine. I’m...I’m gonna go find Murphy and Evan.” He walked to the door. “Enjoy your self-inflicted pity party.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Connor and Evan fight
> 
> -(winter) i fought the log and the log won

Connor first felt something wrong when Evan kept looking around, and pausing from pulling from his seemingly inexhaustible, yet interesting, well of facts about redwood, and trees in general.

“Hey Evan, you alright? You keep looking around, is someone following us?”

“I don’t think so...but stay alert just in case.”

Connor nodded, and proceeded with looking around, his eyes and ears alert to his surroundings.

Except for attacks from above, as a heavy, knotted branch almost hit Connor, a blow that would have definitely killed him if Evan hadn’t pushed him out the way.

“HOLY FUCK!”

Connor has fallen to the ground, Evan on top of him.

“You okay Connor?”

“Yeah...yeah I’m good.”

Despite almost dying from a tree branch, Connor suddenly became **acutely** aware of how close Evan was to him.

_“My goodness has he always smelled this good? Wait, what am I saying? We need to find Jared and Alana, stat. Now’s just the problem of getting Evan off of me...”_

“Um, Evan, could you, uh, ya know?”

“Oh, right!”

Both of them blushing awkwardly, Evan climbed off of Connor, both of them brushing the leaves from off their backs.

“Alright, let’s go fi-”

Suddenly massive branches blocked off the path behind them, as well as in front of them.

“I’m sorry, darlings, but I jes’ cain’t let you boys leave heah alive.”

A heavy southern voice sounded from above them, but when they looked, they couldn’t see a body, just long branches that could move like arms.

_“By Neptune, this lady sounds like a redneck...”_

“Damn it!”

Connor snapped his attention to the left, surprised by the usually soft spoken boy’s outburst.

“How come I didn’t notice before? Dryads always have an aura of a twisted nymph around them!”

Although Connor wanted to comfort his friend, they had a much bigger problem to face.

“Evan, its fine! You’ve never fought a dryad right? Well now’s your chance to learn!”

Evan nodded, pulling out his dual pine blades as Connor donned his Falcon’s Talons.

“Let’s kill this moldy tree then!”

 

_“I swear, if I walk in on those two having sex, I’m taking pictures.”_

After about 15 minutes of hiking through this redbark, or whatever Evan had called it, forest, he had seen neither hide nor hair of Evan or Connor.

_“I mean seriously, if those two wanted to bang, they could have least invited me to watch...”_

His joking monologue was broken, however, when he hear the unmistakable sounds of fighting, he swung his crossbow into his arms, and took off at fast as him legs could carry him.

_“Why couldn't I inherit the speed part of being a child of Mercury!”_

After passing through a particularly thick patch of trees, Jared walked in on Evan and Connor fighting for their lives against a seemingly endless army of branches.

“Yo, Murphy! Hansen, you didn’t tell me you guys were having a party!”

Connor clawed a branch in front of him, and kicked another in twain before responding with, “Shut up, Kleinman and help us!”

“Jared!”

Jared looked over to see Evan fighting his own battle, a whole platoon of branches compared to what Connor was fighting, Evan slashing like a demon just to stay at a stalemate.

“Aim up towards those three trees in front of Connor! The dryad is somewhere up there! ”

_“Given what I know about Evan, he isn’t big on the stamina department, so I gotta act fast!”_

Jared didn’t bother with responding, instead just taking aim, letting his gut tell him which tree was the real one.

_“And my gut tells me...it’s that one!”_

Jared snapped his bow up towards the **fourth** tree in front of Connor, which was abnormally close to the third one. As the bolts flew up, Jared was rewarded with the sound of pained screaming, as the branches receded just long enough for Connor to leap forward.

“TIMBER, YOU DUMB BITCH!”

And with that, reeled his leg back and kicked with his foot blade for all it was worth, splitting the tree where his foot had connected, foul, blood smelling sap spraying from the stump.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

The tree fell, and when it hit the ground, dissolved into a pile of golden dust.

“I’m glad I found you guys in time. But at least we know the answer to that age old question; when a tree falls in the forest and no one's around, it **does** make a sound!”

Evan and Connor let out an exhausted groan, while Jared was wearing his trademark shit, eating grin.

“Yeah, yeah, I love you guys too. Now let’s get y’all to Alana so that she can patch you up.”


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The gang gets some info

  
  


Alana hadn’t even realized she fell asleep until she woke up. She shifted a bit, only to notice she was slightly restrained. Looking down, she saw ropes binding her arms to her body. She looked away from the ropes to see the grinning face of the desk lady, only now she was far more feathery and infinitely more ugly in her harpy form.

“How in Pan’s name do you chickens keep me from being alert in my sleep?!” She screeched.

“Believe me, dear, it’s not as easy as it seems,” The harpy replied. “Now, your little friends should be here any minute. Don’t scream, or it seems I’ll be getting rid of this-” She held up the bag with the Medusa head. “-Sooner.”

Alana’s breath hitched as she shut her mouth.

“Good girl!” The harpy patted the satyr’s head. 

Alana let out an annoyed snort before looking towards the door, hearing footsteps. There was an unsteadiness in one set of the steps, meaning one of the boys hurt their leg.  _ If they’ve just been fighting, even the combined leftover strength they have might have. Plus, I’m not sure if this pile of feathers is even working alone in this place. _

The door was opened. Evan was leaning on Connor- or rather, they were kind of leaning on each other, with a gash along Evan’s thigh but nothing really visible going on with Connor. Jared took out his crossbow, aiming it at the harpy.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing to our friend, you off brand Big Bird?!” He snapped.

“Keeping her as a bargaining chip, of course!” The harpy chittered.

“A bargaining chip for what?” Connor asked, tone deadpan.

“Well- I…” The harpy paused. “That doesn’t matter. I’ve got the head of Medusa here, and I’ve got the location of the Daughter of Hades.”

Connor readied the Falcon’s Talons on his free hand, face like a snarling wolf. “You’d better tell me where the fuck Zoe is before I defeather and turn you into an early Thanksgiving dinner!”

“Now, now, Son of Pluto. You can only have one or the other. Either you get the head,” She held up the bag. “Or you get the location!”

The demigod boys all stared at the harpy,Evan with that of horror , Connor’s face seething with rage, and Jared was trying to figure out if it was all a bluff. 

 

_ “Gods damn it! This overgrown chicken is playing us like a damn fiddle! And there ain’t shit we can do about it!” _

If the decision was Connor’s, he would have chosen the location of his sister over anything…

_ “But now I’m part of a team. I just can’t go jumping the gun, not if we’re going to be able to save Zoe from getting eaten.” _

“Evan,Jared...what do you think?”

The harpy let out an ear piercing cackle at that, following up with “Oh, it seems like the little Son of Pluto has learned to play with others! That’s good, especially if you want to save your sister. So choose, darlings, we haven’t got all day!”

Connor tuned her out and turned to Evan.

“Honestly? I think we should go for where Zoe is. Chances are we’ll be able to get the head back somehow, but if not, i’m sure we can find another way to kill Fetus.”

Connor nodded, and then turned to Jared.

“Jared? Whatchu think? Head or location?”

Jared took a moment to think before responding, talking solemnly, “I think we should go for the head. It’ll mean we have to rush to find Zoe, but it also means when we do find her, it’ll be easy to finish the job and bring her home.”

_ “Fuck. Both of them are on different sides, and both of them have a point. I just can’t-” _

“However,” Jared looked up and locked eyes with Connor, “I trust that you have a good head on your shoulders, and I’ll be happy with whatever you choose. ”

“I agree.”

Connor looked down at Evan, who was still relying on Connor to stand, resting against his side.

“Whatever you pick has its pros and cons, so just go with your gut.”

_ “Well there you have it Murphy? What’s it gonna be? Considering Alana’s current predicament, she can’t put any input, so now the decision rests on your shoulders...” _

“Location.”

Connor looked up into the harpy’s wild eyes, confident in his decision. 

“We want to know where you’re keeping my sister.”

The harpy smiled, a genuine one, despite what she was making him do.

“A wise choice, little Pluto. Your sister is currently enjoying her stay in San Francisco. Look for the northwestern most of the Seal Rocks. That is where you shall find your sister. Or rather...” she paused, her traditional malicious grin appearing once again, “what’s left of her!”

With another deafening screech she leapt into the air, through the roof of the lodge, the head clutched in her talons.

“Jared, take a shot!”

Luckily for Connor, Jared was already prepared to do so, and for once in his life aimed instead of spraying and praying.

“I hope this hits...”

Jared pulled the trigger, the golden bolt flying through the air, and after a short pause, the harpy let a screech of pain, and dropped the head somewhere off into the distance. She continued to fly however, wary of another bolt that may be coming after her. Connor clapped Jared on the shoulder, who had the most surprised look on his face.

“Nice job Kleinman! This’ll make our lives a whole lot easier.”

“Uh, thanks...I guess? It was really just a lucky shot.”

The harpy gone, Alana was free to move again, looking happy for the first time in a while.

“Good job, boys, but our job isn’t done yet. Let’s bandage up your wounds, and then find that head.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's favorite huntress makes an appearance

 

The four walked in the dark of the night, continuing to search for the head. Connor was a bit frantic, although he also hadn’t slept in a day. Evan watched the son of Pluto hop over a log, kicking around leaves. Alana was taking a calmer approach at looking for the head, walking around and searching for signs of the head.

“We’re never gonna find that damn head at this rate!” Jared whined.

“We will, for Zoe’s sake,” Alana half mumbled. “We’ve got to.”

Evan was about to say something before he heard a twig snap. Connor must’ve heard it too, because he turned his head incredibly quickly.

“Who the hell’s there?” Connor snarled, Falcon’s Talons at the ready. “You’d better come out before I find you and rip you apart myself!”

“I wouldn’t recommend that, Son of Pluto.” A voice said. Evan felt a chill up his spine, feeling there were newcomers surrounding them at all sides. Someone walked out of the shadows, the faint light causing the circlet on her head to shimmer. Her hair was short, dark, and spiky, with eyes an electrifying blue color. She dressed like some kind of punk star, and she had a spear in one hand and a shield in the other.

Alana kneeled in a form of respect, making the boys stare at her confused. “Thalia Grace,” She said aloud. Evan let out a noise of surprise, while Jared and Connor looked to each other in surprise. 

“Thalia Grace- as in  _ the  _ Thalia Grace, Lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis and sister of Jason Grace? Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus? All around bad-ass?”

“Would you like to point out anything else, Son of Mercury?” Thalia asked, looking a bit annoyed.

Jared coughed awkwardly, trying to stand up straight and look presentable. “Well,  _ I’m  _ Jared Klei-”

“I know who you are, Roman,” Thalia snarled. Jared almost almost fell backwards out of fright. “Just like I know all of you. Hello, Evan, and Alana.”

“Hi Thalia,” Evan said quietly, but a bit casually.

“What are you doing in this forest?” Alana asked. 

“There’s a few lodges around here housing monsters; seems like they decided this is a good place to stay and terrorize some of the local wildlife. From the looks of it,” Thalia’s bright gaze wandered over each of the demigod boys and then landed on Alana. “You guys might’ve run into one of the monsters.”

“It was a harpy. And she took something of ours.”

“That’s surprising. You four seem like you’d be able to take on a single harpy.”

Alana cringed a little, rubbing her arms as she remembered the ropes that made her useless to her teammates.

“Overgrown turkey ended up surprising us- had another thing we needed and forced us to make a choice,” Connor spoke up, voice still laced with a finicky anger. “Now if you’ll just leave us be, we were trying to find something.” 

Thalia rolled her eyes. “You do realize that there’s well over twelve huntresses who can assist you, correct?”

“You’d help us?” Jared almost squealed in surprise. “I mean, uh…” He cleared his throat and tried to sound smoother. “You’d be willing to help us?”

“More specifically, we’ll be willing to help Alana,” Thalia pointed to the satyr. “She’s helped us out in the past, so consider it a debt that is being repaid.”

Alana blinked a few times. She nodded. “Your help would be appreciated.”

  
  


Once Thalia gave the order, the other Hunters began the search along with the boys. Alana lingered back a little, still caught up in her head.

“I’m quite surprised that you of all people would be caught off-guard.”

Turning around, Alana saw Thalia walking to her before stopping and leaning on a tree. “It’s not like you to be so out of it, Alana.”

“I know,” She sighed. “But a lot has been going on.”

“Would you mind filling me in?”

“I’m not exactly sure where to start,” Alana let out a nervous laugh.

“How about why all of you look like you’re exactly eight minutes from freaking out?”

Alana was quiet, considering how to explain the story. “You remember Zoe Murphy, right?”

“The daughter of Hades?”

“Yes, her. Well, she was...captured. By a harpy. We found out she was selected to be an Andromeda- meant to be a meal for the monster Cetus.” Alana gripped the silver bow slung on her shoulder tightly. “I...I was in the same room as her that night, but that humanoid excuse for a chicken must’ve done something to me...The one that surprised us earlier must’ve done the same thing.”

Thalia seemed to be thinking, hand holding her own chin with her eyes focused on the distance. She was about to say something before someone whistled for the two leading ladies’ attentions.

“We found it!” Jared called out as he rushed to Alana. “Good news, it’s still intact. Bad news, it’s stuck on a really high branch.”

“Evan should be able to-”

“He tried already and he’s too weak to try using his magic. Let’s hurry, because I think I overheard him saying he was going to try to climb the damn thing next.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh oh spaghettios

  
  


“Evan! Are you sure that’s safe?!”

Evan was currently halfway up the tree, despite his still wounded leg, and Connor did  **not** have a good feeling about it.

_ “He’s already weak from the fight we got into not too long ago, and whatever little tree magic he had, he spent it trying to move the tree himself.” _

“It’ll be fine Connor! After all, we just fought a giant tree monster!”

Connor huffed in frustration, his point being completely lost on the boy. Connor turned towards some rustling in the bushes, and out came Alana, Jared, and Thalia. All three came to stand next to Connor, mimicking his expression of concern as they too watched Evan climb.

“Ay, Tree Boy! You sure about-”

“Yes, Jared! I already told Connor I can handle it!”

As this precise moment, the branch that his foot was currently on broke, and Evan had to hold on for dear life.

“Evan! Get down here right now! You’re gonna get yourself killed!”

Evan pulled himself up, and sat on one of the thicker branches, looking down on the three concerned demigods beneath him.

“I don’t need ‘third Mom Alana’ right now, I need ‘Alana that’s always believed in me’ Alana!”

Jared and Connor managed to chuckle at that, while Alana looked more worried than ever.

“At any moment you think you’re gonna fall, start climbing down, okay?”

Evan flashed a thumbs up, and continued to ascend the massive tree, confident in his abilities.

After a long pause, Thalia spoke up, saying “As much as I don’t like him doing this any more than y’all do, if he says he can do it, I trust him. Besides, he’s a hippie tree child. If he was weird like our short,Roman friend here,”

“Hey, I’m not short!”

“He would have sappy,tree sex with every tree he came across. If you catch my drift.”

Jared looked up at her, adoration all over his face.

“You...you just made a sex joke...”

Thalia smiled, a smug smirk on her face.

“I have no idea what your talking about Kleinman.”

She winked at him, and then proceeded to look back up at Evan, who was almost at the top of the tree.

“Hey guys, shouldn’t he had taken a break a while ago?”

Alana, Jared, and Thalia thought for a moment.

“Now that I think about it he should have. I ho-”

“I got it! I got her head!”

They all looked up to see a triumphant Evan, holding the bag with the head of Medusa like it was the greatest treasure of all time.

_ “Something looks off about him though, like he’ll collapse at any second.” _

Connor watched as Evan tied the bag to his belt, and slowly began to climb down. He heard rather than saw his compatriots talking and laughing it up, thinking the danger has past.

_ “I dunno if its being a child of the Lord of the Underworld, but I got a have a hunch that something is about to something.” _

After a short while of watching Evan, Connor turned and listened as Jared and Thalia bonded over a somewhat similar sense of humor. They talked for a while amongst each other.

Until a resounding crack rang through the forest.

“No!”

Connor dove towards where Evan was falling…

And everything went black.

  
  


“Murphy’s gonna be fine- right? And Evan?” Jared was freaking the fuck out as the Huntresses were carrying the two unconscious demigods.

“They’ll be fine. Children of Hades and Pluto tend to be tougher than people think, and from what I’ve seen of that Son of Demeter,” Thalia looked to the nymph carrying Evan, who had a rather nasty gash on his arm. “He’ll make it, but that arm might be broken.”

Jared looked over to Connor, who was being carried by one of the younger huntresses with ease.  _ Is Murphy seriously that light that a kid can carry him?  _ He tried not to snicker, feeling it would be overall inappropriate. Jared redirected his attention to Alana, who was now looking even worse for the wear. 

The group arrived at the campsite, with seven silver tents set up in a crescent formation around a dying bonfire. White wolves were gathered and guarding the camp. Jared felt a chill up his spine as one of the wolves watched him pass by, until Thalia also passed by the wolf and gave it a pat on the head. 

“Don’t mind them,” She said. “You’re one of few boys to be allowed here in awhile.”

“I feel honored,” Jared grinned.

“Don’t say anything out of line, Jared,” Alana whispered. She turned to Thalia. “Is Artemis actually here?”

“Yep. Need to talk to her? Maybe about that offer?” Thalia looked at Alana with a certain caution. Alana looked to the ground. 

_ Offer?  _ Jared blinked.  _ What kind of offer could...wait. _

Jared’s gaze caught Alana’s silver bow, and the gears turned in his head before he let out a soft “oh.”

“I do need to talk to her but...not about that,” Alana rubbed her arms, not looking anyone in the eye. Thalia nodded.

“Come on, then. She’ll still be pleasantly surprised to see you.”

Jared stood awkwardly, watching the lieutenant and the satyr walk to the furthermost of the silver tents.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The gang gets some much needed help

  
  


_ “This place looks just like how I remember it…” _

This was merely a passing thought however, Zoe taking over a majority of her thoughts. Even though Zoe had been kidnapped almost… how long has it been? Four days max?

_ “It seems like an eternity without her...” _

So wrapped up in her thoughts, she barely noticed when she came before Artemis’s tent, two Hunters guarding the entrance, both of whom stepped inside to let Alana enter. 

Artemis sat on the bear skin rug, deers on either side of her and a jackalope in her lap, looking quite content in the master Huntress’s presence.

“Alana. Pleasant surprise seeing you here.Have a seat. What brings you to my camp?”

Alana sat across from Artemis, fidgeting despite having a connection with the goddess for years.

“I’ve come to ask for some assistance, ma’am.”

Artemis smiled, one that she was quite certain she used on Evan to help him feel better. She was not surprised that it had a similar effect on her.

“Alana, please, we are far too close for those trivial formalities.”

Alana put her head down slightly, a blush just barely visible on her cheeks.

“Um...thank you.”

She lifted her head and locked eyes with the beautiful goddess. Alana took a deep breath and began.

“I wished to ask you for two things. The first is I was wondering if I could get some information on when Cetus would appear. My frie-”

“She is not merely your friend is she?”

Artemis interrupted in a soft tone, her deep, brown eyes soft, yet searching.

“I know that tone, child. I have seen many of my Hunter’s use it before, either about a fellow Hunter they have feelings for. Or,” she leaned forward, a knowing smile on her lips. “Or a boy they used to like. So tell me, this… ‘friend’ of yours. You have feelings for her, yes?”

Alana blushed even harder, however she didn’t break eye contact.

“Well you see, it’s a little complicated...” 

“So that’s a yes?”

Alana covered her face with her hands, completely embarrassed by her sudden outing by one of her idols. Artemis, however, smiled endearingly, as a mother would to her children.

“I’ll that alone for now. As for Cetus, you have three more days to get to San Francisco. And the second thing?”

“I was wondering if you could lend us a hand in some way. Considering now we only have three days, we would greatly use the help.”

Artemis put a finger to her lips in thoughtfulness. After a short while she nodded and stood.

“I can’t spare any of my Hunters my dear.”

Alana’s face fell, sadness seeping through her very soul.

“However, I can provide you transportation to Sacramento. After your quest is finished I would like for you and I to talk again. Now come. We have your girlfriend to save.”

With a smug smile, and a blushing satyr in tow, Artemis exited her tent, and went to see how her Hunter-to-be friends were holding up.

 

Evan awoke to a numbing pain in his left arm and with him lying right next to a sleeping Connor once again. He tried to sit up, only to yelp in pain from putting pressure on his arm. Connor woke up in an instant, looking frazzled.

“What’s going on? Where are we?” Connor blinked several times. “What happened to your arm?”He pointed. Evan finally looked at his left forearm, seeing it wrapped in a somewhat makeshift cast.

“I think...I remember that I fell from that tree after getting the head,” Evan rubbed one of his temples with his good hand, realizing he now had a mild headache.

“Shit, that’s right,” Connor agreed in a half-mumble. “I tried to catch you.”

“...Thanks?” Evan sounded a bit unsure of whether that was the proper response.

“Good, you two are awake.”

Evan directed his attention to the opening of the- he look around briefly- the tent. Artemis stood with Alana to her side and Jared right behind them. Jared looked like he was seeing a ghost as he was just staring at Artemis.

“I’ve spoken with Alana on your situation. I’ve already reached out for transportation to Sacramento, which should give you all just enough time to prepare and head to Cetus to save the daughter of Hades,” The goddess explained. “Hopefully you all are well enough to make a rather quick trip.”

“As long as it’s not Apollo again,” Connor said with a slight bit of bitterness. Evan glanced at his friend, then looked back to the goddess hopefully.

“Oh, trust me. I am not going to trust my brother with your lives again,” She reassured. “How do you all feel about pegasi?”

“We’re gonna ride pegasi?!” Jared screeched, with either joy or fear, no one could really tell.

“I’m alright with pegasi,” Evan shrugged.

“They tend not to like me,” Connor still held a bitter tone.

“It’s probably a child of the Underworld thing,” Artemis nodded. “But that’s why you and the son of Demeter here will ride together.”

Evan managed to choke on nothing. 

“Is there something wrong, Evan?” Artemis held a knowing glint in her eye.

“Uh, no, of course not, Lady Artemis,” Evan could feel his face turn redder than the strawberry fields back at camp.

“Then come along. We must move quickly if you are to have enough time,” Artemis turned and walked out of the tent. Connor got up first, helping Evan to his feet but not yet letting go of his hand afterwards as they followed the goddess.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mild fluff ahead

  
  


Connor tries to keep his interaction with horses to a minimum.

Why? Well, because they generally don’t like him, of course. It’s childish, but if they don’t like him, he doesn’t like them.

Which is why he let Evan take the lead on their black-and-white winged steed. He tried to keep his face from getting a little flustered as he had his arms wrapped around the son of Demeter’s abdomen. Honestly, keeping his mind on keeping himself from looking like a tomato was the best way to cope with the fact that he was a long ways from the ground. Probably as a son of Pluto, he didn’t take being away from the ground well. Mostly because his  _ dear uncle Jupiter  _ would obliterate him for being in his sky realm without some kind of special permission. Jupiter fucking sucks.

Back to the moment at hand, the sun was up enough to be a little annoying on the horizon, despite the beauty of a sunrise. Looking down, he started to see the city of Sacramento.  _ Finally, _ He thought, letting out a small sigh right in the crook of Evan’s neck.

He felt Evan squirm a little, to which Connor mumbled a quick  _ “Shit, sorry.”  _ The pegasus they were riding- Pepper or something? Connor wasn’t listening to the introductions- began descending, probably following Alana’s pegasus. They landed in an open park that was empty of mortals from the looks of it. Connor hopped off the pegasus first, thankful for the Earth under his feet again before helping Evan down. Evan almost fell completely over, but thankfully Connor caught him in a weird semi-hug. Evan looked up at the taller boy with his shimmering, leaf-green eyes.

_ Good gods, what is it about those eyes that makes me feel...less horrible about everything?  _ Connor had to wonder, not noticing how his hands had been placed on Evan’s hips.

“Con-”

“Can you two not make out in a public park?” Jared snapped Connor out of his weird trance with the other boy. Quickly, the two separated from each other.

“Jared, stop being rude to them. I think it’s kind of sweet,” Alana let out a soft laugh that actually sounded genuine for the first time in a few days.

Neither Connor or Evan looked at each other, but Connor knew both of them had incredibly red faces. 

“So anyway,” Alana grabbed their attention. “We need to find a place to stay and rest up. We’ve got roughly three days, but San Francisco is only about an hour drive from here. As long as we stay on track…” Alana trailed off, but everyone got what she was saying. 

“Let’s get moving,” Connor began to lead the way once more, traveling quickly with his long legs. 

 

Although Connor was walking fast, mostly because of his long, lean legs, Evan managed to keep up all the way until they reached a nice looking motel.

“Um, Alana? Are there no-”

“I don’t know Evan. I can’t tell  **until** we get into the building.”

“Oh. Sorry..”

They discussed a course of action, and decided that Alana would go in and see if she smelt any monsters, and if she did they would find somewhere else to rest. Luckily they didn’t have to wait long, because after a few minutes Alana came back outside and ushered them in. The receptionist was an easy going blond dude who looked way too tired to be working.

“Sup y’all.  How’s the quest so far?”

Everyone’s jaw dropped, including Alana, however Connor was the first to speak.

“How did you-”

The guy turned his attention to Connor, effectively shutting him up.

“The name’s Winter, child of Apollo.”

_ “Wait a minute. That name sounds familiar...” _

All of a sudden that name was all too familiar and Evan knew why.

“You're the demigod who fought their dad, right?”

Winter turned to Evan, a smug smile on his face.

“You betcha Tree boy. Almost got his ass too, but I’m plannin’ on trying again next week.”

Although speaking in a joking manner, Evan felt a hint of steel in his tone.

_ “This guy is as ballsy as they say he is...” _

“Anyways, there’s two rooms left, so y’all decide who’s bunking with who, and here are your keys. Night.”

After tossing them two keys, the demigod collapsed to floor, and promptly fell asleep.

About 10 minutes later they managed to decide who would be with who, the final sleeping arrangements being Evan and Connor in one room, and Jared and Alana in the next. Although Evan was fine with sleeping in the same room as Connor, the situation changed significantly when he had to sleep in the same  **bed** as Connor.

“Um Connor? Since there’s only one bed, I can sleep on the floor if you want?”

Connor waved off his comment with a wave of his hand and went into the bathroom.

_ “Oh gods, what am I gonna do! I can’t just-” _

“YO EVAN! CHECK THIS OUT!”

Evan ran to the bathroom, and was greeted with a pristine white chamber, with a massive two person shower area  **and** a tub.

“This’ll save us plenty of time! We’ll shower together!”

Although Evan was very nervous about Connor seeing anything...below the belt. he reluctantly agreed so that he didn’t disappoint his friend.

“Just turn around for me please? I don’t want you to see.”

Thankfully Connor agreed, stepping into the shower after Evan did so and turned on the water. Now there was another problem…

_ “WHY IS THERE NO DIVIDER BETWEEN THE SHOWER HEADS!” _

After a panic ridden shower, Conor and Evan climbed into bed with one another, Connor shirtless, showing off his lean, chiseled abdomen.

“Good night Connor. I’ll-”

“Evan. Can we talk for a minute?”

_ “...fuck” _

Evan turned back over, his face so close to Connor’s he could feel his breath against his face.

“You don’t have to talk...just listen for now.”

Connor took a deep breath and locked eyes with Evan.

“Ever since I met you...after we met...”

Connor was visibly struggling to speak, his fears no doubt getting in the way.

_ “He shouldn’t be afraid...not with me...” _

“Connor. Just tell me what you feel.”

Connor nodded, and steeled himself once again.

“My dear  Evan Hansen. I like you. Like, a lot and it would be nice if-”

On impulse more or less, Evan leaned forward, and pressed his lips to Connor’s. Pulling away, he smiled. Connor did too.

For the rest of the night, no words were exchanged, as they cuddled one another until they both fell asleep.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot twist!  
> kinda

  
  


Evan blinked his eyes open when he heard rather aggressive knocking on his and Connor’s door.

_ “Hansen, Murphy, I know you both can hear me, you motherfuckers!”  _

Well, Jared’s never taken that tone...at least not with Evan.

“Calm the fuck down, Kleinman!” Connor yelled back. “It’s too damn early for this shit..”

_ Of course Connor would be awake.  _ “What do you think is up?” Evan whispered to the taller boy as Connor was beginning to shift out of bed. Evan missed the warmth until Jared started pounding on the door again.

“I don’t know, and if it’s some stupid bullshit, I’m breaking his gods-damned neck,” Connor growled, looking around for his shirt. He grabbed it off the floor, pulling it over his head as he walked to the door.

“Connor don’t break his neck,” Evan began to get out of bed himself before Connor was shoved back into the room, Jared pressing the bag with the Medusa head on his chest.

“We should’ve fucking checked,” Jared snapped. “We should’ve checked the damn bag before getting out of those woods.”

“What the hell are you…” Connor slowly opened the bag, words dying on his lips. “Rats. Fucking. Dead. Rats.”

“That’s right, Murphy! Dead rats instead of the only thing that might keep your sister from getting eaten up like a starving man’s breakfast!”

“How the fuck was I supposed to realize-”

“They’re dead! You’re a fucking child of Pluto!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, but I’ve been busy protecting Ev and riding flying horses to detect some shit like this!”

“Oh right, poor little Evan Hansen over there,” Jared snarled. “He should’ve known that this damn thing was some kind of fucking decoy.”

“Don’t go blaming it on Evan, asshole. He broke his damn arm-”

“ _ For a bunch of dead rats! _ ”

Evan wasn’t exactly liking how the two Romans were standing toe to toe, almost eye to eye. 

“Honestly, it would’ve been more useful for Hansen to climb higher.”

That’s the moment everything truly went to shit.

 

Connor was first to strike. A punch right to Kleinman’s jaw. Jared glowered at Connor, adjusting his glasses before lunging at the other boy. He punched Connor in the gut, which actually hurt like a motherfucker. Connor kicked Jared in the shin, causing the shorter teen to fall, but not before Jared pulled the son of Pluto down with him by his shirt.

Connor managed to at least land with a knee to Jared’s chest, reeling back his arm for the next punch to the son of Mercury’s face. Jared managed to catch his hand, forcibly flipping them over so now Jared was on top of Connor. Jared gave Connor a punch to the jaw as petty revenge until the lanky boy swiftly brought his hands to Kleinman’s neck.

“Enough!” Alana practically ripped Jared away from Connor. Evan stood in the background near the open door, grabbing at his shirt with anxiety written on his face. “What in Hades name are you two doing?!”

Jared forced himself away from Alana’s grasp. “As usual, Murphy’s being fucking sensitive.”

“ _ I’m  _ being sensitive?!” Connor snarled, getting to his feet. 

“Yeah, just like back at Camp Jupiter. One simple ribbing and you’ve gone psycho-”

“You said some out of line shit, Kleinman. Plus, you’re calling  _ me  _ the sensitive one? You threatened some Greeks for laughing at you- that’s fucking right, I overheard at that dinner.”

“Well at least I don’t summon an army to do my work for me.”

“At least I actually got something that helps me fight from my dad. You run like a fucking injured tortoise for a child of Mercury.”

“You can’t even fucking control it!”

“It’s fucking something!”

Once again, the boys were nose-to-nose. 

“At least I’m not some kind of hell-spawn who might blow the fuck up one day.” Jared spat. “Hell, I’ve never actually hurt anyone.  _ I’ve never laid a hand on any of my sisters.” _

The resounding crack of a fist colliding with someone’s nose came next. Jared was holding his nose, blood running down his chin and hand already with his glasses eskew. Jared was shaking, with some form of fear and rage, but he turned away.

“Jared-” Alana and Evan both said as the short boy walked out the door. They looked to Connor, who was just staring at his hand like he couldn’t tell if it was his own. 

Alana and Evan looked at each other, making a silent agreement seemingly before Alana left the room, closing the door behind her. It left Evan and Connor alone in the hotel room together once more.


End file.
